


The Stones of Power

by Weekyle15



Series: The White Wizard And The Avatar [1]
Category: Thundercats (2011)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 28
Words: 101,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23456416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weekyle15/pseuds/Weekyle15
Summary: Adam Ordeis and his best friend Carter Vamir accidently travelled to a world filled with Animals and are on a quest to find the legendary power stones before an ancient Evil named Mumm-Ra does to take over Third Earth. (Part 1 of 4)
Relationships: Cheetara/Tygra (Thundercats)
Series: The White Wizard And The Avatar [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1687441
Kudos: 1





	1. Prolouge

Adam Ordeis who was born with a unique white hair colour and is wearing a black hoodie and pants and he has green eyes.

He was walking back from School while people were whispering about his weird hair and has been saying things like "Snowy" or "Dandruff".

He felt something hit his head and saw a rock near him.

He looked and saw a teenager with piercings on his face with bunch of thugs near him.

"Why don't you go to Alaska, Snowey." Said The thug as he threw rocks at him again.

The Others followed behind him while laughing.

Adam ran with tears in his face.

He soon went inside his house when someone called for him.

"Adam, your friends are here!" Yelled a man with a deep voice.

"Coming dad!" Yelled Adam as he threw his schoolbag by the door.

He went into the sitting room and saw an African American teenager with short black dreads and wears blue pants, a lighter blue T-shirt and fitted baseball cap in a backwards fashion, sneakers, and a black jacket with yellow accents on the arms and cuffs named Carter Vamir.

Adam smiled and walked over.

"Hey C." Said Adam as he raised his hand.

"Hey." Said Carter as he slapped his hand with Adam's.

Unlike most people in New York Carter is the are the only people who didn't make fun of his hair.

Bellator noticed Adam's face covered with bruises and cuts.

"Are you alright?" Asked Bellator in worry as used his towel from his neck to wipe the blood of Adam's face.

Adam smiled a bit at Bellator's protectiveness, it shows how much it cares.

"I'm fine dad, honest." Said Adam.

Bellator glared at him, telling Adam that he doesn't believe him.

Bellator sighed.

"Fine, but we're talking about this tonight." Said Bellator with a tone that there was not point in arguing about it.

"Where are you going?" Asked Adam.

"To Work, something's happened at my gym so i need to sort it out." Said Bellator with a smile.

Bellator owns his own gym named Bellator's Strength Gym and it's really popular.

Bellator ruffled Adam's hair.

"I'll be back in a few hours." Said Bellator.

Adam shoved Bellator's hand away with a smirk.

"Now remember you two, no football in this house." Said Bellator firmly with a glare.

"Yes sir." Said both Carter and Adam raised both their hands to the heads as a military gesture sign.

Bellator then left the house.

"So what do we here?" Asked Carter.

"Well we could go to the attic." Replied Adam.

"Why?" Asked Megan in confusion.

"Dad asked me to clean it a while ago so I thought it could be something for us to do and plus i don't want him angry for slacking off." Replied Adam.

"Well, it's a start I suppose." Said Carter with a sigh.

They went upstairs and began putting stuff away in boxes.

Carter found a black book with weird writing in blue glowing letters.

"What's this?" Asked Carter.

Adam looked up and saw the book.

"Let me see that." Said Adam.

Carter handed over the book.

"I've never seen a book like this." Said Adam.

Carter looked over the pages and noticed something.

"What's this say?" Asked Carter.

Adam looked at the writing.

"Espíritus Antiguos, Por Favor, Dame El Poder De Transportar." Said Adam in a weird language.

Suddenly a blue portal appeared from beneath and pulled them away to an unknown location.

The book Adam was holding fell to the ground.


	2. Mumm-Rana

The Portal opened up with Adam and Carter coming through it and wherever they were it was covered in nothing but darkness.

"Where are we?" Asked Adam while shivering.

"How would I know?" Asked/Replied Carter.

Carter then noticed something lacking in Adam's hands.

"Uh, where was that book you were holding?" Asked Carter.

Adam looked at his hands and saw nothing.

"It was there a second ago." Said Adam as he was looking around for the book.

"Oh that's just great, how are we supposed to get back home?" Asked Carter.

Only when you complete your quest. Said a feminine voice coming from somewhere.

Adam and Carter looked around to see where that voice came from.

"Who said that?" Asked Carter.

Suddenly a light came out and shined on a white pyramid.

A blue magical bridge came between the pyramid and the two boys.

"Well I guess we're going in there." Said Adam as he started to walk but was stopped by Carter.

"Do you really think it's wise?" Asked Carter.

"Given our situation, do we really have a choice?" Asked Adam as he began to walk towards the pyramid.

Carter didn't move at first but realized there was no choice and catched up with Adam.

Soon they went inside the pyramid where there was nothing but a crypt and a pool of sorts.

"Okay if there is no one here, where'd that voice come from?" Asked Carter.

"Who said there was no one here?" Asked the voice.

They both looked around and still saw nothing.

Suddenly a blue magic aura came around the crypt and it suddenly opened.

Adam and Carter suddenly became frightened.

A person came out of the crypt and it was a woman who looks like a human and has three gold fin like objects on each side of her head and wears a blue cloak and on the lower parts of her body is covered in bandages.

"Who are you?" Asked both Adam and Carter.

"I am Mumm-Rana, a being for light and good in the universe, believe me I am not your enemy and I'm in need of your help." Said Mumm-Rana.

"Why should we trust you?" Asked Carter.

"Right now do you have any options?" Asked Mumm-Rana.

"Well what do you want us to help you with?" Asked Adam.

Mumm-Rana held up her hand and blue magic energy came out to show a planet.

"You must go to this planet called Third Earth-" Said Mumm-Rana but was cut off.

" 'Third Earth', what happened to the First and Second Earths?" Asked Carter.

"They are intact, in fact there multiple versions of Earths then you can possibly think or imagine." Replied Mumm-Rana.

"Whoa." Said both Adam and Carter.

"Now, an ancient evil named Mumm-Ra, my evil counterpart has been freed and will try to take over Third Earth with the six Power Stones." Said Mumm-Rana.

"What are power stones?" Asked Adam.

"Ancient artefacts that are said to be the most power objects in the universe." Replied Mumm-Rana.

"Well let's say we want to help, how do we find these Power Stones, they could anywhere on that planet, and we know next to nothing about this Third Earth?" Asked Carter.

Mumm-Rana held up two crests of her symbol and gave it to both Adam and Carter.

"Give this to a wizard called Jaga and he will tell you the location of the Book of Omens and it will tell you were to find the four power stones for you." Said Mumm-Rana.

"Wait four, you said there was six?" Asked Adam.

"There are, four of them are known on Third Earth, the other two are hidden beyond my knowledge." Replied Mumm-Rana.

"Fortunately I know the location of the first Power Stone, in the Cat Kingdom itself called Thundera." Said Mumm-Rana.

"You must to those stones before Mumm-Ra does, otherwise it'll be the end for us all." Said Mumm-Rana.

"We understand, I guess." Said Adam with uncertainty.

Carter grumbled in agreement and with a flick of her wrist Mumm-Rana sent them away with a blue flash.

She looks at the cauldron.

"May the universe help you both, White Wizard and Avatar." Said Mumm-Rana with a whisper.


	3. Enter Thundera

Adam and Carter appeared in a jungle like location with Mumm-Rana's blue light flashing them.

They looked around but saw nothing of any type of Civilization.

"Great, you would think she would teleport us to Thundera instead of away from it." Said Carter as he crossed his arms.

Just before Adam could answer they suddenly heard noises coming to the left side of where their standing.

They went over and saw what looks like a giant city, about the size of New York by the looks of it with a giant cat statue in the middle.

"Do you think this is Thundera?" Asked Carter as they got out of the jungle to reach the gates.

"It better be, though I'd be more concern if they actually speak English or not." Said Adam as they approached the gates.

However they were stopped by guards by the looks of it.

Adam and Carter gained a closer look and the guards looked humanoid cats.

"Halt, why have you came to Thundera, Wood Forgers?" Asked One Guard.

Wood Forgers? Thought Adam and Carter as neither one knew what a Wood Forger was.

"We came here to see a wizard named Jaga, so we could ask for his help." Said Adam, decided to make the most of the situation.

The guards looked at each other and whispered to each other before coming to an agreement.

"Very well Wood Forger, we shall take you to Jaga, but don't try anything funny." Threatened one guard as he held up a spear to them as the other left to tell the king as to what is happening.

Soon enough they entered into what appears to be a throne room and saw four people.

One was older lion with heavy red beard on him and a crown on his head which means he could be the king.

The Second was a lion too but was younger then the older one and seems to be more friendlier then the rest.

The third was a tiger who looked at the two boys with suspicion in his eyes.

The fourth was an old cat of sorts who is wearing Wizard like outfit on him as well as a helmet.

"What are you two doing in Thundera?" Asked the elder lion.

"We're here to see a wizard named Jaga, because an ally of ours told us to find him and warn him." Said Adam, hating that he felt the need to repeat the reason they are here, plus he don't know what to make Mumm-Rana since they don't know if she can be fully trusted or not.

The older cat stood up.

"I am Jaga, what is it you want of me?" Asked Jaga.

"We came here to warn that an ancient evil named Mumm-Ra." Said Adam trying to remember as much as he could.

The tiger scoffed.

"Don't talk nonsense, Mumm-Ra is no more then a myth as technology is." Said the tiger.

"What do you mean technology is a myth, on our world we use them all time." Said Carter.

All four of the cats eyes widen in shock after hearing this.

"Though sometimes it feels like technology Is our weakness rather then strength." Said Adam as he looked back on how people on earth are more depended on technology more then anything.

"What is it of Mumm-Ra, that you came to warn me about?" Asked Jaga as he felt the conversation was slipping.

"Oh yeah, according to this ally of ours Mumm-Ra has been freed from his prison and wants ancient artefacts called Power Stones." Said Adam.

"Power Stones?" Asked the cats.

"From what our ally told us their are four power stones on Third Earth, and we need to find before Mumm-Ra does, but to do so we need something called the Book of Omens." Said Carter.

The cats eyes widen once again at the mention of the Book of Omens.

"That why she sent us here to find Jaga, because he knows where the Book of Omens is." Said Adam.

Jaga rubbed his chin while pondering.

"Who is this ally of yours?" Asked Jaga to test If they are telling the truth.

"She claimed that she was a force of light and good, complete opposite of Mumm-Ra, she called herself Mumm-Rana." Said Adam.

Jaga's eyes widen in disbelief.

The elder noticed.

"You know of her, Jaga?" Asked the elder lion.

"Yes, Claudus, if she is real then this situation may be more dire then we thought." Said Jaga.

He looked at the boys again.

"Do you have proof?" Asked Jaga as he couldn't trust or believe them yet.

"Yes actually, before she sent us off here, she gave us her crest to prove we are telling the truth." Said Adam as he took out a blue crest with an ouroboros symbol on it from his hoodie. (A/N: For those of you that don't know what that is, an ouroboros is practiacly what an eight symbol would look like on the middle side of it).

Carter took his out too, just to be on the safe side.

Jaga took the crests and looked deeply troubled.

"This is very troubling, did she give you any other instructions to you?" Asked Jaga.

"Just one other thing, she told us that the first stone is here somewhere on Thundera but she didn't say where, what this power stone is called or even what it looks like." Replied Adam.

"Not much to go on then." Said the tiger.

Adam and Carter glared at the tiger, already not liking his attitude.

"Then I give you instructions the first thing in the morning." Said Jaga as he walked away.

Claudus looked shocked.

"You actually believe them Jaga?" Asked Claudus as he followed Jaga.

"I was sceptical at first my king but had they not shown me this crest I would not have believed them." Said Jaga.

Claudus nodded as he knew how serious his old friend is.

"Very well then, Lion-O, Tygra show our guests to the guest room since they will be here for a while." Said Claudus.

The two nodded and walked along side Adam and Carter to show them their room.

When the two entered the room Tygra spoke up.

"Just so you know we don't exactly trust you two." Said Tygra.

They looked back and saw Tygra behind them with his arms crossed.

"You may fooled everyone else with this Mumm-Ra and power stones thing but you can't fool me, the sooner you two are out of Thundera the better." Said Tygra as he walked out and slammed the door behind him.

Adam and Carter glared at the door, thinking at what Tygra said.


	4. Mysterious Stone

Later on that night Adam and Carter were planning their journey towards the Book of Omens.

Suddenly Adam's stomache grumbled before blushing in embarrassment.

Carter sighed before speaking.

"I guess that really can't be helped as we haven eaten anything yet since our quest began." Said Carter.

So they went into town to find a restaurant or anything of the sort to find something to eat but they keep getting stares from everyone and everywhere they go.

They stopped by a what appears to be a blacksmith's shop and decided to go in to ask for directions or ask for somewhere to eat.

They saw what looks like Tygra but has blue fur.

The tiger noticed them.

"Oh, hello, what can I do for you?" Asked the tiger.

"Uh your not bothered by our appearance?" Asked Adam as he was shocked that he wasn't afraid or something.

The tiger shrugged.

"Ah I seen weirder things, believe me you are not shocking." Said the tiger.

"I'm Bengali by the way." Said Bengali as he sort of rhymed his name, sort of and held out his paw.

"Adam Ordeis." Said Adam as he shook with Bengali.

"Carter Vamir." Said Carter as he did the same thing.

"You said you saw something stranger then us, what is that?" Asked Adam as he didn't know what could be weider then two humans in a planet full of humanoid animals.

"Well a few weeks ago I was walking beyond Thundera's walls and I noticed a strange stone of sort." Replied Bengali.

"Strange Stone?" Asked both Adam and Carter as they look at each other.

They were both wondering the same thing, could this be the first Power Stone that Mumm-Rana told them about.

"What did this stone look like?" Asked Adam.

Bengali began to think back.

"Well it was completely red for starters and it seemed to have magical powers because it kept transforming." Replied Bengali.

"Transforming into what?" Asked Carter as he knew the odds were becoming more likely.

"Well one minuet it was the same shape of a crystal and the next minuet it became a cube with a single black line like it was a cat's eye or something." Replied Bengali again.

Adam and Carter were looking at each other again.

There was no denying now, that was first Power Stone they needed to take down Mumm-Ra.

"Can you take us there?" Asked Adam.

Bengali was shocked.

"Are you sure?" Asked Bengali with uncertainty.

"Yes." Replied both Adam and Carter.

Bengali sighed.

"Ok, but remember no one can know I took you there or I could loose my job." Said Bengali with fear in his eyes.

"If they ask we'll say we heard a rumour." Said Adam.

Later on Bengali took outside of Thundera's walls.

"So are you and Tygra related?" Asked Carter as he might as well make small talk along the journey.

Bengali chuckeld as he shook his head.

"How many times have I been asked that question?" Asked Bengali as he muttered to himself and shook his head.

"No he and I are not related, we may be the species, of sort but he and I are not nor will ever be related." Said Bengali.

"So are we close to this stone you mentioned?" Asked Adam as he noticed the distant between Thundera and where they are walking.

"Just around that cliff." Said Bengali as he went around the cliff.

Adam and Carter soon followed and saw a cliffside where they found a pedestal with a stone tablet on the top and some kind with a red stone in the middle that like Bengali said keeps transforming into a crystal and then a cube with a black line on it like an eye and beside the pedestal are strange thorn like black rocks.

"What are these?" Asked Carter as he examined the Black Rocks.

"I don't know, for some odd reason they sprouted out of the ground the last time I came here." Replied Bengali.

"What do you mean sprouted out of the ground?" Asked Adam in confusion.

"Just as I said, they sprouted out of the ground like plants." Replied Bengali.

"But rocks aren't plants" Said Carter.

"Try telling these things that." Said Bengali as he pointed at the Black Rocks.

"That's not even the weirdest thing, watch this." Said Bengali as he took out a sword.

"Um, you two may want to take a step back." Warned Bengali.

They did and Bengali swung his sword at the rocks but the sword was shattered into pieces the minuet it made contact with it.

Adam and Carter was shocked for words.

"These things are unbreakable." Said Bengali as he threw the useless sword away.

Adam then noticed the red stone.

"Is this the red Stone you told us?" Asked Adam as he got closer.

"Yeah that's it." Said Bengali as he was showing Carter around.

Adam put his hand near the Stone and noticed something odd.

Adam's entire body began to glow white as the stone was glowing Red and the Black Rocks were beginning to glow blue.

Carter and Bengali noticed this and looked back at Adam.

Adam touched the stone and the next thing he knew it pretty much blew up in his face.

Everyone was overcame by that weird explosion.

Adam, who was lying down on the ground pushed himself up.

He noticed something different about his hair.

Suddenly the Black Rocks began to sprout and everyone had to run for their lives.

Bengali then took out another sword and slashed a tree which fell behind them.

They continued to run as Bengali looked back and didn't see the Black Rocks following them.

Within a safe distance they took a breath before going back to Thundera.

"What just happened back there?" Asked Carter.

"I don't know, I just touched the stone and the next thing I knew it just exploded in my face." Replied Adam.

Carter then noticed something.

"Uh Adam." Said Carter as he pointed at Adam's chest.

He looked down and saw the same stone in a sphere form this time in his chest as though it was part of his skin.

"Ok, what next?" Asked Adam in sarcasm.

Carter again noticed something and pointed at his head.

Adam looked at the river next to them and saw his hair is completely turned red instead of white.

"I had to ask." Said Adam.

They soon managed to came back to Thundera and parted ways with Bengali.

"How are we going to explain this Claudus." Said Carter as he doesn't know what to do with Adam's new appearance.

"We'll have to keep it hidden for now." Said Adam as he pulled up his hoodie to hide his hair.

Just then a dove flew right by them.

"Gotta say, I seen countless warriors and heroes try to find the Power Stones for years, and you two already found one on your first day." Said the dove with a familiar voice.

"Mumm-Rana?" Asked Adam.

The Dove nodded her head.

"And you found one of the most powerful of them all, The War Stone." Said Mumm-Rana.

"War Stone?" Asked Adam.

"These Stones have names?" Asked Carter as well.

"Well how else can you tell these Stones apart?" Asked Mumm-Rana back.

She held up her wing to reveal four gems of Adam and Carter assumed were the power stones:

"The First one is The War Stone which you Adam already had." Said Mumm-Rana as she showed the image of the War Stone.

"The Second one is the Spirit Stone." Said Mumm-Rana as she showed an image of a diamond shaped pink/red stone aka the Spirit Stone.

"The Third one is the Tech Stone." Said Mumm-Rana as she showed an image of a disc shaped light green stone aka the Tech Stone.

"And the Fourth one is the Soul Stone." Said Mumm-Rana as she showed an image of a diamond shaped blue stone with a red crystal or something in the middle of it aka the Soul Stone.

"What about the other two stones?" Asked Adam as he remembered Mumm-Rana saying there were six Power Stones.

"I can't tell you that far about those stones yet until you have all four of the Power Stones here on Third Earth, but I can tell you the names of the last two stones at least: The Sun Stone and The Moon Stone." Said Mumm-Rana.

She soon flew away.

"Well at least we beat this Mumm-Ra to one first." Said Adam as he tried to look on the bright side.

They eventually decided to go back to the palace and luckily managed to hide Adam's new appearance from the king, little did they know that Jaga was no fool.

Meanwhile where the War Stone was located.

A mysterious human woman who has long white hair with one half of her face normal with the other half orange and wears warrior like clothing was looking at the pedestal and saw the War Stone was no longer there.

She smirked and saw the Black Rocks and then up at Thundera.

She saw the Black Rocks starting to sprout out and took out a black sword and destroyed the Black Rock in front of her.

She began journeying towards Thundera.


	5. Jaga's Lessons

The next morning Adam and Carter woke up and Adam noticed his hair was back to normal.

"Well at least King Claudus won't notice your hair being different." Said Carter as he left his bed and walked over to Adam.

"Maybe so, but how do we hide this?" Asked Adam as he pointed to the War Stone on his chest that is still glowing red.

Carter handed over Adam's hoodie which conveniently hides the War Stone.

Adam sighed.

"Well I suppose it will do for now." Said Adam as he and Carter got dressed and left the guest room.

They bumped into Jaga.

"Oh hey Jaga, do you have the map and instructions for the Book of Omens yet?" Asked Carter.

"Yes, but before I do, I want to know what you two were doing outside Thundera's walls?" Asked Jaga as he crossed his arms with a neutral look on his face.

Adam and Carter gulped.

"I will not tell the king, I assure you this, I just want to know." Said Jaga.

"We recently heard a rumour about a mysterious stone that was not normal so we checked it out and found the first stone." Said Adam as he pulled down his hoodie to reveal the War Stone on his chest.

Jaga looked down and examined the stone.

"So the real one is found." Said Jaga as he mumbled but was clear enough for Adam and Carter to hear.

"Real one?" Asked both Adam and Carter.

Jaga shook his head.

"Never mind that, come there is something for you both to do." Said Jaga as he walked away.

Adam and Carter followed him to a giant room with weapons everywhere.

"Whoa." Said both Adam and Carter as they both looked around the room.

"Now I believe it is time for you two to learn your lessons." Said Jaga as he came over to them.

"Lessons?" Asked Adam and Carter, fearing this might be a punishment for sneaking out.

"Yes, to understand your powers." Replied Jaga.

Now this made Adam and Carter more confused.

"Powers?" Asked Adam and Carter.

"Yes, did you wonder why the stone chose you as it's host Adam, and why you were here too Carter?" Asked Jaga as he raised his eyebrow.

"Well I just assumed it was because I was there when Adam read that weird writing on that book on his house." Replied Carter.

"And what did you mean by host?" Asked Adam.

Jaga shook his head.

"I am afraid you are wrong about that, Carter." Said Jaga.

He went over to Carter first.

"You Carter Vamir have an ancient power called Bending." Said Jaga.

"Bending?" Asked Carter in confusion as he had no idea what that meant.

"It is a power that combines the Elements of Nature with Martial Arts." Said Jaga as he showed an image of symbols of Fire, Water, Air and Earth. A/N: Just image the nation symbols from Avatar.

"The Vamir Family has been around for generations to use this ancient art." Said Jaga as he showed images of Carter's family using bending.

"Although for some reason you don't need techniques or martial art like moves to control the elements." Said Jaga.

"So that's why my last name is Vamir." Said Carter as he looked away.

Jaga then looked around.

"My official family name is Maza, but for some reason me and my sister Korra had our last names Vamir, up until now, I had no idea why." Said Carter.

Jaga shook his head.

"Now then, try using Water." Said Jaga.

Carter held up his hand and from his hand formed into a ball made of Water.

Carter was surprised and the water fell into the ground.

"Now try Fire." Said Jaga.

Carter then held out his hand again formed a ball made entirely of Fire.

Adam took a few steps back, so not to get burned.

Jaga smirked and nodded his head.

"Now try Earth." Said Jaga.

Carter held his hand to the ground and the ground began to move up with him on it.

"Whoa." Said Carter in surprised.

Jaga smile widened.

"Now try Air." Said Jaga.

Carter held up both his hands but nothing came out.

He kept trying but still nothing came out.

Jaga looked confused.

"I guess you cannot use Air yet." Said Jaga.

He put his paw on Carter's shoulders.

"Keep practicing with those powers, you may even learn Air as you go along." Said Jaga.

Carter nodded as walked off to practice the three elements he had.

Jaga walked over to Adam.

"Now as for you Adam Ordeis, what I meant by host is that the stone in your chest is because it chose you for you to use it." Said Jaga.

"But why me?" Asked Adam.

"It is because you can use magic, and the stone would never choose just anyone for it's use." Said Jaga.

"Wait, I can do Magic? "Asked Adam.

Jaga nodded.

"Quite so, of all magic users in the universe, you are the most powerful, but you can't use the power yet until you fufill your quest here on Third Earth." Said Jaga.

"Right, other wise way to easy." Said Adam as he knew nothing was easy.

"Now concentrate." Said Jaga as he move aside.

Adam held out his hands and a ball of light came around both of them.

Carter noticed and looked at the light.

"Now that's amazing." Said Carter.

Jaga nodded in agreement.

Hours went by and it was nightfall and by then Adam and Carter have gotten used to their new powers.

"Now that's enough lessons for now, I shall give you the map and instructions on the Book of Omens as well pack you both supplies in a few days." Said Jaga as he left.

Adam and Carter left the room as well.

Adam felt someone bump into him but saw no one but Carter.

Carter noticed something in Adam's hand.

"What's that in your hand?" Asked Carter.

Adam looked down and noticed a note and read it.

It said: An Old Friend of Claudus returns but he is no friend and will betray the king.

Both Adam and Carter were confused.

Who was the old friend of Claudus and why would he betray his own king?


	6. Omens Part 1

The next morning Adam and Carter woke up again and went out found something.

It was a stone tablet that said:

These will be days of peace prosperity on Third Earth when one empire with two rulers from all worlds come together and stood above all others ruling with a just heart and high magical powers and though Omens foretold in the book would be ignored the tragedy to come was necessary for it was written that the two rulers would be from another world with powers beyond ours, one made of magic and one made of elements, the kings to lead our people and the other nations against the Ultimate Evils.

Adam and Carter were confused.

"What does this mean?" Asked Adam.

"I don't know, does this mean we'll be fighting enemies that are more poweful and ancient then Mumm-Ra?" Asked Carter.

"It implies it." Replied Adam with worry.

"Does you think it's linked to that weird prophecy you found last night?" Asked Carter.

Adam took out the note and re-read what it said.

"It could be." Said Adam as he put the note.

They then noticed Lion-O.

"Lion-O?" Asked both Adam and Carter.

Lion-O then quickly hid as though he was doing something he shouldn't.

He noticed Adam and Carter.

"Oh it's you two." Said Lion-O with a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing?" Asked Adam as they walked over to him.

Lion-O looked around to see no one was looking around.

"That depends on how good you two can keep a secret." Said Lion-O in a whisper.

Adam and Carter nodded their head, knowing they've kept Bengali's secret this long.

Lion-O bent down closer.

"I'm sneaking out of Thundera to see an old friend, he claims he has something outside of Thundera." Said Lion-O with a smile.

Now this got their attention, what else could be out there other then the War Stone they found?

"Mind if we come with, we need to see much of Thundera before we leave." Said Carter.

Lion-O nodded.

"I don't see why not." Said Lion-O as he held two pairs of cloaks and gave them to Adam and Carter.

The Duo followed Lion-O through the streets of the city until they came to an area that looked like the seedy part of town.

Snarf let out uneasy mews as they walked through.

"Relax, Snarf." Said Lion-O.

"You think we're gonna get killed every time we come to this part of town." Said Lion-O as they were past multiple cats.

"What is Snarf anyway?" Asked/Whispered Adam to Lion-O.

"Do you have any animals like this on your Earth?" Asked Lion-O.

"No, none that we know of." Replied Adam as he looked at Snarf, and had to admit, Snarf was cute.

"Where do you think you're going, mutt?" Shouted a rough voice near them.

The Trio looked to see, as well as everyone else, a dog that was getting roughed up by a few cats.

They threw the dog against a stand, like they had with another dog yesterday.

He grabbed this one by the collar as he whimpered and yanked him up.

"That's right, pay up or get hurt." Said the leader cat as he messed with the dog's head as it whimpered in pain.

Lion-O walked closer to the group, glaring at them.

Snarf mewed again and tugged on Lion-O's cloak.

"I know, they're not cats Snarf, but no one should be treated like that." Said Lion-O.

The cat leader of the gang turned around, glaring at Lion-O's form hidden underneath the cloak.

"What are you lookin' at?" Asked the Cat Leader.

"Whiskers." Whispered Lion-O.

"Why don't you mind your mind own business?" Asked Adam in anger.

Many people around them gasped as no ever talked back to the cat leader like that

They watched as the posse surrounded them.

Snarf ran and hid behind Lion-O's cloak.

"You gotta pay up, too, in the slums, everyone's a dog." Said the cat leader as he poked at Adam's chest and he held out his hand for Adam's money.

"I have a feeling you're the one who's going to pay." Said Adam, reaching out and grabbing the cat man's hand painfully and throwing him back.

The only female cat member of the group pulled out a knife and was about to put it at Lion-O's throat, before Carter grabbed her arm and stopped her before she could, bringing her hand down so he could see her face.

Her eyes widened at the sight of Carter, and he smirked.

He made a gust of air increase the speed of his fist as he punched her in the face.

The shortest of the group came running at Lion-O, wielding a knife, and Lion-O kicked him back.

The last member of the group let out a battle cry as he ran at Adan and Carter with his sword.

Snarf ducked between his feet, weaving in and out of them as he ran, causing him to lose his footing before he even got to her.

Adam smiled down at the little creature.

"Thanks, Snarf." Said Adam as he patted Snarf.

Snarf mewed happily, then looked worriedly at something behind Adam's back and he turned to see the big cat man had gotten up and held Lion-O in a chokehold.

"Now, I'm gonna gut you like a fish!" Yelled the Cat leader as he was tightening his grip as Lion-O struggled against his gigantic arms.

Carter was about to stop him, when something hit him on the back of his head, making him fall temporarily unconscious and drop Lion-O.

Adam and Carter saw someone spinning his or her staff around before having it go down onto the ground to show that they weren't going to attack anymore.

"Not that I needed it, but who can I thank for the assist?" Asked Lion as he fixed up his cloak.

The person stepped into the light and it revealed a female cheetah with a revealing outfit and has what appears to be blonde hair to Adam and Carter.

"Cheetara." Said Cheetara as she introduced herself.

Adam, Carter and Lion-O were blushing as they looked at her.

"Hello—" Said Lion-O before clearing his throat when his voice cracked.

"Hello there." Said Lion-O again with a deeper voice.

"I'm sure the king would not be happy to learn that his son was wrestling alley cats." Said Cheetara with a smirk on her face.

Lion-O sighed and pulled his hood off, revealing himself to the public.

The cats they had been fighting earlier saw this and the leader looked at him with wide eyes.

"He's the prince, Scatter?!" Asked/Yelled the cat leader and his goons didn't need to be told twice as they ran off, away from the four of them.

"It's my dirtiest cloak, and it's still a bad disguise." Said Lion-O with a smile as he adjusted the clip on his cloak.

"What's so important you'd risk your life coming down here?" Asked Cheetara.

"That depends, can you keep a secret?" Asked Lion-O with a smirk on his face.

Adam and Carter rolled their eyes over how many times he asked that.

Cheetara mirrored his smirk and followed him as he pulled up his hood again.

She walked so she would be in-step with Adam and Carter.

Meanwhile in the Thundera Castle, Tygra, Claudus and Jaga were waiting on what appears to be thrones and seems to be waiting for something or someone.

"He know how important today is, where is that boy Jaga?" Asked Claudus.

"Be easy on him Claudus, remember when you were his age your father wasn't happy with you or your choices." Said Jaga as he knew about Claudus's secret past.

"Maybe so but I didn't neglect my duties as prince as he is." Replied Claudus with a tone to Jaga.

He looked at Tygra near him.

"Why can't he be like you, Tygra?" Asked Claudus.

Tygra smirked.

"You're asking for the impossible, father." Said Tygra.

After what seemed to be a risky eternity, they finally reached their destination.

They saw an old dog with brown fur with clothing that made him look like an engineer opened a curtain like door from his hut.

"Lion-O!" Yelled The old dog happily when he saw him.

"Come in, come in! I have something for you." Said the old dog as he went back into his hut.

"Jorma here sells certain, hard-to-find collectables." Said Lion-O as he was trying to explain to the three people with him.

"You mean like black market items?" Asked Carter Leanne.

"They're more than that." Said Lion-O as he went inside.

The trio behind him shared an uncertain glance with each other before following him.

What they saw surprised them both.

"What is all this?" Asked Cheetara, looking around at everything with wide eyes.

Adam and Carter weren't any different.

They reached out to one of the strange things and looked it over.

It was definitely technology of some kind, but it was more advanced than any she had ever seen.

One looked like the head of a tentacle creature.

Carter looked over at Lion-O and saw he was holding something that looked like a mechanical robot arm.

"It's what's out there, beyond Thundera's walls." Said Lion-O with excitement in his voice.

"What the Book of Omens calls technology." Said Lion-O as he tossed the robot arm to Cheetara, who easily caught it.

"Doesn't everyone think those stories are just fairy tales?" Asked Cheetara as she put the arm down.

"Boy you cats will deny anything won't you?" Asked Adam as he rolled his eyes.

Jorma went over to something he had covered with a drape and pulled it back.

"You think this is a fairy tale?" Asked Jorma.

Everyone went over to look at the device.

It looked like a big, metal Frisbee, only it was too thick to be one, with a strange indention with a tiny screen covered in vertical lines.

"I think it's probably another fake people like you sell to people like him." Said Cheetara as she pointed to Lion-O, who was more focused on the device.

"As cubs, we believe the tales about ships that could fly, maybe everyone else outgrew them, but I didn't, I know there's a bigger world out there." Said Lion-O with a dream like look on his face.

He looked over at Cheetara, and smiled sheepishly.

"You think I'm crazy, don't you?" Asked Lion-O as though he was speaking from experience.

"I think you're different." Replied Cheetara with hesitation.

"Well we don't think so, trust us on our planet we use technology every day so we don't think so." Said Adam as Carter nodded.

Lion-O smiled at them and then gasped as they heard a bell ringing throughout the city, announcing the time, like the big ben clock.

"Oh, I'm late!" Yelled Lion-O as he pulled some money out of his pocket and tossed it to Jorma.

"I'll take it." Said Lion-O as he pulled up his hood, smiling at Cheetara.

"Maybe next time, I can bail you out of trouble." Said Lion-O as He Adam, Carter and Snarf ran out following him to his destination.

The three of them ditched the cloaks at the entrance of the throne room and ran in where they saw King Claudus, Tygra, and Jaga sitting on their thrones and waiting for Lion-O.

He ran up the stairs, while Adam and Carter stopped at the bottom of them, panting harshly with Snarf still on Adam's shoulders.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Yelled Lion-O with a sorry smile on his face.

King Claudus said nothing as he nodded to Jaga.

"Let us begin this sacred rite of passage, Jaga." Said Claudus.

Jaga nodded once and raised his staff.

"Guardians of the crown, bring forth the Sword of Omens!" Yelled Jaga as his clerics did as he asked.

Adam and Carter looked up as they saw a group of clerics come in.

One carried the sword, which was covered with a blue silk of some kind, forward and kneeled before the king.

Lion-O caught Tygra winking at her, and she gave him an incredulous look.

"Are you flirting?" Asked Lion-O in surprise.

"While you will one day wear the crown, Lion-O, only the Eye of Thundera, the source of our power, knows if there is indeed a king inside of you." Said Jaga as he lifted silk to reveal a grey like sword with a red stone in the middle.

Adam looked at the sword, and he couldn't help but notice the similarity between the stone in the sword, and the War Stone in his chest.

"Take the sword, and become one with it." Said Jaga.

Lion-O reached out and picked the sword.

He walked away from the others and practiced swinging with it.

"You hold in your hands what built the ThunderCats Empire, but only he who is deemed worthy can harness its awesome power." Said Claudus.

But Lion-O didn't seem to listen as he kept swinging the sword.

"Let me show you what it's capable of in the proper hands." Said King Claudus as he stepped away from his throne and took the sword from Lion-O.

Tygra, who held a sword looked at his father as he turned away and then he looked back at Lion-O.

"Uh-oh, catch!" Yelled Tygra as he threw the other sword at Lion-O and he caught it just as his father turned around and swung the sword at him, small bolts of lightning coming from it.

Both of the human's eyes widened when they saw this.

As their swords clashed, Lion-O just barely defending himself against his father's blows.

"The book told that it was the ThunderCats, our ancestors, who first defeated Mumm-Ra, it was the ThunderCats who brought law and order to a world of warring animals, and it is now the ThunderCats who are strong enough to maintain this fragile peace!" Yelled Claudus as he raised the sword high and brought it down, the force of it causing Lion-O to lose his footing and he fell back, dropping the other sword.

"More like abusing that power." Whispered Adam to Carter who nodded in agreement.

Claudus brought the sword down into the floor, into the middle of the ThunderCats emblem, powerful bolts flying from the blade.

Once they had stopped, Lion-O got up and grabbed the hilt of the sword, pulling it out from the floor.

He made the same moves his father had, and everyone watched in awe as lightning came from the sword as Lion-O used it.

"That's it, Concentrate!" Yelled Claudus with encouragement.

With every swing Lion-O made, more bolts of lightning came from the sword.

Adam and Carter saw the sword widened or something.

Suddnely the War Stone in Adam's chest began to glow.

And then suddenly, Adam saw two evil red eyes in darkness, and a wrinkled demon's face appearing in the blade of the Sword of Omens.

When it was done, Adam gasped.

Adam's hand going to his forehead, suddenly feeling dizzy as a result of the vision he saw.

Carter noticed.

"Are you okay, Adam?" Asked Carter, concerned for his friend.

"I don't know." Replied Adam

"The sword is ready, Lion-O, but you are not." Said Claudus as he took the sword with him as he walked away.

Lion-O frowned sadly, seeing that he disappointed his father again.

Jaga stood up, keeping his eyes on Adam.

He noticed this and looked over at him.

"What?" Asked Adam.

"I did not say anything." Replied Jaga.

They heard a loud horn going off out of nowhere.

"What's that?" Asked both Adam and Carter.

"It's the alarm." Lion-O as he ran off.

"Come on." Said Adam as both he and Carter.

They dashed up to where Claudus, Tygra, and Jaga already were.

Claudus looked through a telescope to see what was coming and saw a huge yellow and dark green stone being moved forward by a huge group of animals.

"It can't be, it can't be at long last!" Yelled Claudus as he put down his telescop and turned around to go downstairs with Tygra and Lion-O followed him.

The duo followed the cats, having no idea what was going on.

They went down to the stables and mounted some strange creatures that they've had never seen before.

They were like horses in height and build, but nothing like them in appearance.

They had thick, light blue fur, and a face that reminded her of some kind of rodent.

Adam got on it.

"Do you think he, she, it bites?" Asked Carter with uncertainty.

"It's not the biting I'm worried about." Said Adam.

Carter moved onto the saddle behind Adam.

Adam whipped the reins on the creature and they took off after Claudus, Tygra and Lion-O.

"Huh, guess all those horse riding lessons paid off after all." Said Adam.

The creature galloped through the front gate and towards the huge stone.

Both Adam and Carter's eyes widened when they saw that the animals pushing it forward was a huge group of lizards, who must have been the slaves of the cat standing on top of the huge stone.

The lizards glared at them as they passed by and Adam couldn't help but feel a little sorry for them.

He looked up, seeing the cat on top of the stone was a big, brown cat.

He wore what must have been Armor, and had only one saber tooth sticking out of his mouth.

He was a big cat, bigger than Claudus, and definitely younger than him.

Tygra recognized the cat, had his creature go faster as the large cat had all the lizards stop walking for a small break.

"Grune!" Yelled Tygra happily as he dismounted from his animal and ran over to the stone.

"I come bearing gifts!" Yelled The cat, apparently named Grune from the top of the stone.

"I know it's not much now, but just wait until the Thunderian stone cutters are done with it!" Yelled Grune as he jumped down from the stone, which must have been over thirty feet high, and landed before Claudus and Tygra just as Lion-O was dismounting with Adam and Carter was following him off.

"Are you a sight for sore eyes, old friend!" Yelled Claudus happily as he went over to Grune and they shared a brotherly embrace.

When they pulled away, Claudus looked around him.

"And where is our dear friend, Panthro?" Asked Claudus in curiosity as he looked back at Grune, who shook his head solemnly.

"He fought valiantly, alas, he came up against a force that was too powerful for even him to overcome." Said Grune as he took out a small, leather bag and pulled out what looked like a pair of clawed nun chucks and presented them to Claudus.

"It is only through his sacrifice I stand before you today." Said Grune with a sad tone on his voice.

For some reason Adam didn't believe Grune.

Claudus took the nun-chucks from Grune, a sorrowful expression on his face.

"Tomorrow, we will mourn this great loss." Said Claudus as he put his hand on Grune's shoulder.

"But today, we celebrate the return of Thundera's greatest general!" Yelled Claudus as Grune nodded.

He looked behind Claudus and smiled at Tygra and Lion-O.

He saw Adam and Carter.

And for some unknown reason the War Stone in Adam's chest began to burn him which Adam couldn't figure out why.

"And who might these be my lord, new slaves for Thundera?" Asked Grune.

Carter began agitated when he heard.

"SLAVES?!" Asked/Yelled Carter.

Adam looked at him in fear as he knew that was a sore spot towards Adam and his, er people. A/N: I am not a racist in case any of you are wondering, I just don't know the correct term to use because I'm slow.

"I'll give you slaves you little bas-" Yelled Carter before Adam put his hand over Carter's mouth which muffled him.

"These are our new guests Grune, they are on a journey to find the Book of Omens." Said Claudus as he ignored Carter's outburst.

Grune shook his head.

"I am afraid that is impossible my lord, the book does not exist, that's why you sent Panthro and me to try and look for it." Said Grune.

"If the book didn't exist then why are we here on Third Earth in the first place." Said Adam.

Grune narrowed his eyes at them and walked away from them with Claudus, Lion-O and Tygra behind him.

Carter soon cooled down from his outburst and Adam let him go.

"Why did you do that?" Asked Carter.

"We can't risk getting kicked out Thundera without our map and supplies towards the Book of Omens." Replied Adam.

Carter muttered as he knew Adam was right, but he didn't have to like it.

That night, the huge stone was brought into the middle of the city's square, where streamers and lanterns had been set up for decoration of the celebration.

Adam and Carter stood next to Lion-O as Claudus addressed the crowd of people.

"It was many seasons ago when I set out Generals Grune and Panthro to find the fabled Book of Omens." Said Claudus.

"While it remains lost, Grune has returned with tales of adventure, great treasure, and new lands to conquer, today, we show him our appreciation!" Yelled Claudus as Grune stepped forward, and the crowd cheered loudly, applauding him and his efforts.

Adam and Carter passed by a pair of stocks where two lizards were locked inside.

They both watched as two cat boys came up and started nailing them with, what looked like, purple tomatoes.

Adam felt his blood boiling in anger as they did so, and started marching towards them.

Carter immediately noticed his absence.

"Adam?" Asked Carter as he ran over.

"Hey, cut that out!" Yelled Adam as he ran over towards the two kids.

They both ran off while still laughing.

He looked at the two of them pitifully, then turned to one and asked with a soft, genuine smile.

"Do you want some help wiping that off, it probably doesn't smell too good." Said Adam.

The lizards looked at Adam in surprise, and the one he had asked nodded his head.

Adam looked around, and saw an empty bucket, which he assumed was to dehydrate them and brought it over.

Carter held out his hand and water came of it which filled the bucket.

Luckily Adam found a cloth to use and dipped it in the liquid before carefully wiping the purple juice from the lizard's face.

When it was all washed off, he walked over to the other one to do the same, but he just hissed angrily at him, making him jump back.

"I don't need your pity!" Yelled the lizard.

"I was just trying to help." Said Adam.

Lion-O came up to them with narrowed eyes.

"Please, your majesty, show mercy!" Yelled the other lizard as he saw the prince.

"Why should I?" Asked Lion-O.

"If the roles were reversed, you'd have lopped my head off by now." Said Lion-O with a reply they couldn't think of for that.

"We were only scavenging for food, when we were captured as slaves." Said the Lizard before the other lizard hissed at him, making him stop.

"Forget it, looking for mercy from cats is like trying to squeeze water from a stone." Said The other lizard as he glared at Lion-O when he said this.

Adam and Carter, wondering if the ThunderCats really are trustworthy people.

"Hold your tongue, fool, He'll kill us"" Yelled the first lizard in terror.

"No, I want to hear this." Said Lion-O calmly as he looked at the other lizard.

"What do you mean?" Asked Lion-O.

"We only attack to survive, you control the best lands and resources, leaving the rest of the animals to fight over scraps, If we steal your crops, it is to feed our children!" Yelled the lizard.

Lion-O turned his gaze to the ground, his eyes clouded in thought.

The Duo stiffened slightly in anger when they saw Tygra, who they still don't like, for obvious reasons, come forward and put his arm around Lion-O's shoulders.

"You're not taking this criminal seriously, are you?" Asked Tygra with a grin on his face.

"Criminal, the lizards' only crime is being weaker than the cats, and it's the same for all animals." Said the lizard.

He turned his eyes to Adam and Carter.

"And whatever these things are." Said the lizard.

Adam sighed.

"Human, we're called humans, it's not that hard to say." Said Adam.

"Let's go, it's time for the games." Said Tygra as he walked away, and after a moment, Lion-O, Adam and Carter followed him.

They were standing near the table instead of sitting because 'surprisingly' Claudus didn't like them.

At the table were the family and Grune, along with a picture of a cat that looked like he was going bald with a scar over one blind eye.

"These games are dedicated to the life of an outstanding general, and loyal friend, who gave all he had in the name of Thundera." Said Claudus as he raised his goblet up high.

"To Panthro!" Yelled Clausuds as Lion-O, Tygra, and Grune did the same.

"To Panthro!" Yelled out the crowd cheered loudly once they had done this, meaning it was time for the games to start.

"Ah," Sighed Grune as he ate some ripe grapes.

"It truly is the little things you miss most." Said Grine as he continued earing.

The duo couldn't help but think of the lizards they had spoken to a moment ago, who talked about how the cats had all the best lands and resources, and how the other animals had nothing.

"I wonder." Said Carter.

"What?" Asked Adam.

"What if Grune was this traitor the prophecy warned about?" Asked Carter as he whispered low enough for only Adam to hear.

Adam took out the note from hoodie pocket and re-read it again.

"It would fit his description, he's an old friend of Claudus and came back so it must be." Said Adam.

"Plus, there is something about Grune I don't trust." Said Adam as he glared at Grune.

"I imagine it was the experience of a lifetime." Said Claudus.

"When you were out there, did you see any technology?" Asked Lion-O with hesitation in case it was a sensitive subject.

"Don't ask him stupid questions, Lion-O." Said Tygra.

Lion-O frowned at him.

"There's no harm in asking, Tygra." Said Adam as Tygra looked away.

"I see nothing has changed, one son with his head on his shoulders, the other still with his in the clouds." Said Grune to his king.

He turned to Lion-O.

"I'm afraid, Lion-O, I encountered all manner of beast and warrior, but nothing even resembling technology, we did everything we could to find the book." Said Grune as he lifted his wine glass.

Lion-O's hopeful expression fell.

"Perhaps what the skeptics say is true, the book's existence is no more real than its stories of technology and Mumm-Ra." Said Tygra.

"If Mumm-Ra and the Book of Omens are not real then why are Carter and I here on Third Earth in the first place?" Asked Adam.

"I see so much of me in you." Said Grune to Tygra as he put his arm around his shoulders and ignoring Adam's question.

"You would have made a great king, but such honors must be reserved for the bloodline." Said Grune He glanced at Lion-O.

"Lion-O too will be a great king." Said Claudus, speaking up for his son.

Lion-O looked at his father, slightly surprised at his words.

"Of course he will, I just would have made a better one." Said Tygra.

Grune laughed heartily at his words.

"Doubt it." Said both Adam and Carter at the same time.

"You're just so perfect, aren't you, Tygra?" Asked Lion-O in sarcasam.

"Thank you, Lion-O." Replied Tygra with a smirk.

"Too bad you're afraid to get your tail kicked in front of your hero!" Yelled Lion-O as he snapped, standing up from his seat and pointing at Tygra.

"Now's not the time." Said Tygra as he stood up from his seat, giving Lion-O a hard look.

"Oh, I'd say now's the perfect time." Said Grune, pointing to the arena in front of them.

Lion-O and Tygra were waiting at the base of one of the biggest branches in the arena.

A trumpet sounded, and Lion-O took off, clawing his way up the branch, heading straight for the bell.

Tygra was only a little ways behind him, then he jumped up behind him, and Lion-O shot out his leg to kick him away, but Tygra blocked it and punched Lion-O's face, making him lose his grip and fall.

Lion-O bounced off one of the branches, and then flipped over, landing on all fours the crowd cheered loudly at Tygra's move.

Lion-O dashed up the branches, going up to Tygra.

He tried to knock him off with punches and kicks, but Tygra easily blocked them.

Finally, Lion-O landed a hit on his face and he tried to kick him off, but Tygra caught his foot and pushed him away and he kept climbing up the branch as Lion-O tried to regain his footing.

Tygra said something to Lion-O but the duo couldn't make out, but whatever it was, it aggravated Lion-O and he ran up to where Tygra was standing, waiting for Lion-O to come to him.

He lifted his fist, ready to punch Tygra, but he was faster than him, and punched Lion-O back, making him fall down into the water.

Then, he did a victorious stroll to the bell and jumped up on top of it, making it ring when he swung on it.

After their match was over Adam and Carter looked for Lion-O and found him with the device he bought from Jorma as well as the balcony over looking the festival.

"It's official, they think I'm a failure, and they always will unless I can prove I'm not chasing a childish dream." Said Lion-O as he glared at the device in his claws.

"Lion-O, you will, we both told you that technology exists." Said Adam.

"Yeah, but that's a completely different planet." Said Lion-O.

"How am I supposed to prove it, when even Grune said there was no tech out there?" Asked Lion-O.

"Don't let what Grune failed to see stand in the way of what you believe." Said a voice from behind them.

The trio looked to see Jaga walking towards them, and Lion-O hide his technology behind his back.

"The book says that our greatest ruler will possess the ability of sight beyond sight." Said Jaga as empathised on beyond

"You mean like having visions?" Asked Adam in curiosity now.

"More than that, Adam, it's the ability to lead with clarity, for sight is useless without action." Said Jaga.

Adam looked away from Jaga for a moment, thinking, then looked back up at him.

"There's something I need to talk to you about, Jaga." Said Adam, thinking that he should hear about his vision he had seen.

Jaga put his hand on Adam's shoulder.

"There will be time to talk later." Said Jaga as he conspicuously moved Lion-O so he would go down the hallway in the direction to the festival below.

"There's a party still going on, enjoy yourselves." Said Jaga.

Lion-O smiled at the old cat man.

"Thanks, Jaga." Said Lion-O.

He started walking to where the festival was.

Adam and Carter soon went down as well and met up with Lion-O and Tygra and then saw people torturing the lizards from earlier with torches.

"We can't let this happen." Said Adam as both he and Carter ran over but Tygra stopped them by putting his hands on their shoulders.

"Why they are our enemies?" Asked Tygra.

Adam took Tygra's hand off his shoulder.

"Maybe they wouldn't be your enemies if you stopped treating them as slaves!" Yelled Adam as he once again ran to the crowd with Carter behind him.

They soon went to the front of the crowd and halted them.

"These lizards haven't done anything wrong to you all, they don't deserve this!" Yelled Adam.

The cats gasped at what he said.

"No he's right they don't deserve this, I say we give them the death sentence!" Yelled out one cat and the other joined afterwards.

"I won't let that happen." Said Adam firmly.

The lizards looked at him in surprise, why would a 'human' help them?

"Move lizard lover!" Yelled the cat from before tried to hit Adam with a wooden stick but luckily he missed.

Carter punched that cat in the face.

"You felines should have known I have his back." Said Carter as he stood next to Adam.

The leader laughed.

"You think two things could stop us?" Asked the leader.

Lion-O jumped out from nowhere and landed next to them.

"Make that three." Said Lion-O with a smirk.

The cats gasped at seeing their prince helping the lizards.

Tygra came up to them as well.

"Make that four." Said Tygra.

This left Adam and Carter confused, why would Tygra help them when he hated them.

Soon fourth person jumped up as well to reveal Cheetara.

"How about five?" Asked Cheetara as she took out a staff.

Tygra's face implied that he know her.

"Twice in one day, now I know you're following me." Said Lion-O hiding his smirk.

Cheetara smirked and twirled her staff.

Soon enough a fight began to break out.

Cheetara was using her speed to defeat.

Tygra used his whip and turned himself invisible which surprised Adam and Carter.

Lion-O was able to hold his own with his own strength.

Carter was able to use martial arts against them which they have never seen before which gave him an advantage.

Adam was holding his own by dodging them until eventually he was hit in the head by a rock hit his head which caused him to bleed.

Suddenly his hands turned red and with a yell he blasted red energy towards the entire crowd.

Everyone was In shock.

Even Adam himself was shocked and saw sparks coming from his hands.

Carter went over to Adam.

"What did you just do?" Asked Carter in shock.

"I-I Don't know." Said Adam as the glow faded from his hands.

He looked at his chest and noticed the War Stone was glowing.

Was this the stone's power? Thought/Asked Adam.

Lion-O didn't ask what happened as he grabbed one cat by the collar of his shirt and got ready to punch his face, but was stopped by someone's voice.

"Lion-O!" Yelled out a voice.

He looked up to see his father, Grune, and two guards approaching.

He dropped the cat and looked up at his father.

"What is going on here? Protecting lizards?!" Asked/Yelled Claudus in shock.

"No, I'm protecting us, from turning into the very cold-blooded creatures we fear, these lizards did nothing, and should be released!" Yelled Lion-O as he gestured towards the lizards.

"Release them?" Asked Claudus in shock.

"Don't be foolish! As Lord of the ThunderCats, it is my duty to keep our people safe and one day, it will be yours." Said Claudus as he tried to talk his son out of it.

"You wanted me to start acting like a king, well this is it, and I don't think the only way to rule is with a sword, maybe we'd have less trouble with the lizards if we weren't always repressing them!" Yelled Lion-O in anger.

Claudus looked at his son thoughtfully, and then nodded once.

The two guards that had come with him released the lizards from the stocks, and before they had a chance to thank Lion-O, the guards shooed them away.

"My lord," Said Grune in a warning tone.

"Consider this an act of goodwill between the species." Said Claudus.

He walked towards Lion-O.

"Perhaps now, you might show some goodwill of your own, and take your responsibilities as prince more seriously." Said Claudus.

Lion-O nodded once and Claudus turned away, he, Grune, and the guards walking away.

The crowd everyone had been fighting dispersed, and Lion-O started to walk towards the palace walls as well as Adam and Carter.

Snarf was looking at the yellow stone Grune had brought them and made funny faces on it before giggling and walked back to the palace.

Neither of them saw the snake-like silhouette appearing in the yellow stone where Snarf had been looking at his reflection.


	7. Omens Part 2

The Next morning Adam and Carter woke up and thanks to Jaga, Adam's head has been healed from last night.

They walked alongside the palace until they heard something.

"Now is not the time to be tinkering with junk." Said Tygra as he appears to be in the same room with Lion-O.

"People think you're crazy as it is." Said Tygra.

"It's not junk, it's technology." Said Lion-O as he was tinkering with the device he got from Jorma.

"I don't care what they think." Said Lion-O.

"Maybe you should." Said Tygra as he looks at the wall filled with pictures of technology.

"People are talking about you pardoning those lizards." Said Tygra.

" They say it's another example of you not taking your position as heir to the crown seriously." Said Tygra as he looks at Lion-O.

"We've been at war with the lizards for generations, maybe it's time to look at things differently." Said Lion-O as he tried to open the device.

"That's your problem." Said Tygra as he reached down and picked up another device that Lion-O had.

"You look at lizards and see victims, you look at junk and see mythical tech, when are you going to grow up?" Asked Tygra.

Lion-O stood up from his chair and snatched the device out of Tygra's hands.

He looked at it for a moment, then looked up at Tygra.

"When I do, I hope I'm nothing like you." Said Lion-O.

Tygra growled threateningly at him.

Adama and Carter walked away, not wanting to get involved with a brother's spat.

A few hours later and it was nightfall again and by that time they heard a loud horn go off.

It was the same one that announced Grune's arrival, but this one was different, it kept going off instead of just making one, long sound.

They left their room and saw people suddenly rushing around, and they ran down the hallway and went to a lookout point where Claudus, Tygra, Grune, and Jaga already were.

They looked out, and on the horizon and everyone could see the smokestacks from fires made by the enemy, whoever they were.

"This attack comes not a day after I pardon two of those filthy beasts!" Yelled Claudus as he growled, glaring at the oncoming enemy.

Claudus turned to Lion-O.

"Now do you see the results of leniency?" Asked Claudus in a disappointed tone.

"I was only trying to act like a prince." Said Lion-O as he tried to defend his actions.

"You undermined our power and made the cats look weak!" Yelled Claudus, turning away from Lion-O.

"It's no wonder everyone thinks your brother should be king." Said Claudus as he walked away and Lion-O had a hurt look on his face.

Adam and Carter went to confront him but Jaga stopped them

"Grune, Tygra, come with me, we need to ready our defences, Jaga, prepare your clerics." Said Claudus.

The three nodded as they took his orders.

Lion-O walked in with Adam and Carter beside him.

"And me?" Asked Lion-O wanting to help his father.

Claudus looked over his shoulder at Lion-O.

"You will remain here." Said Claudus with cold tone in his voice.

He briskly walked away, Grune and Tygra following him. Lion-O's face fell in sadness.

"He's lost all faith in me, Jaga." Said Lion, turning to the elderly cat.

"What is important is that you don't lose faith in yourself." Said Jaga.

He nodded at Leanne once before taking his leave, going to prepare his clerics.

Adam and Carter refused to help, their anger with Claudus more stronger then before.

Suddenly everyone felt the earth shaking and heard loud booms.

The trio looked out to see that the lizards had flaming catapults and were aiming all of their attacks to the wall outside the city, and anywhere inside it.

Adam and Carter couldn't believing the sight of warfare.

They had never experienced war, or seen any part of it other than what was in movies, but seeing it with their own eyes was much more devastating.

They knew that the people who got hit with those projectiles would die.

They dashed to a part of the castle near the top, a much smaller look-out point, but one that looked over the entire kingdom, not just the wall in front of it.

Lion-O pulled out a telescope to watch the battle.

Everything seemed to be progressing as it normally would in a battle of cats versus lizards, and it looked as though the cats would come out victorious, as they always did.

But something changed, something was fired from a distance, and it came hurtling towards the city.

Carter's eyes widened as he recognized the object by its speed and shape alone.

A missile, along with three smaller ones that had branched off from it made contact with the city, exploding on contact, and multiple explosions happened around the castle, making it shake.

the quaking caused both Adam and Carter to fall on their backside.

"I thought you said there wasn't any technology here!" Yelled Carter.

"I thought there weren't either, what is that?" Asked Lion in confusion over what that thing was.

"It was a missile." Said Adam as he stood up.

"It's something we use back home, it's a technology we use to try and destroy our enemies before they destroy us." Said Adam.

"So, a missile can causes this much destruction?" Asked Lion-O as he was looking at all the other places that had been affected not long after the missile's hit.

Lion-O looked at his telescope and looked at where one of the explosions had happened and saw lizards going through the rubble, heading towards the castle.

He then looked out to the walls, and gasped when he saw that the lizards had more than just missiles for technology.

"And what about those?" Asked Lion-O.

Adam took the telescope and looked to see large, robotic things moving on the battlefield, firing off different ammunition at the cats.

Adam looked at them with wide eyes, and then looked back at Lion-O.

"I… I've never seen things like that before." Said Adam.

Lion-O sighed looking through the telescope to the giant robots that were attacking Thundera's forces.

"I just can't believe it, Technology was my dream, how did it become my nightmare?" Asked Lion-O as he saw the very thing he wanted to see was destroying his home.

Carter looked at him sympathetically, reaching out and putting his hand on his shoulder.

Lion-O appreciated the gesture of comfort he was trying to give him.

He looked down at the lizards as they went around the castle, his eyes widened when he saw a very familiar disc-like piece of technology being put on one of the castle's statues.

He watched as the lizard soldier carefully put his finger to the small screen on the front, and running away once it began to light up, one bar disappearing each time it lit up.

Once all the bars were no longer lighting, the device exploded.

Lion-O pulled back from the telescope, his eyes wide in shock.

Adam and Carter noticed the look on his face and looked at him confusedly.

"What is it?" Asked Adam.

They were confused when Lion-O suddenly got up.

Adam and Carter and Snarf followed him as they went to his room, to his secret hiding place where he kept his technology.

Neither Adam and Carter follow him inside because the room was too small for the two of them to be inside it at the same time.

They watched as Lion-O picked up one of his pieces of technology, putting his finger to the small screen on it and watching it light up.

They heard the device quickly beeping, getting faster and faster as time went on.

"All those years of listening to people tell me I was crazy for believing in this, well, guys, it's about to pay off." Said Lion-O as he turned off the device.

"Are those bombs?" Asked Adam.

Lion-O nodded, gathering all of them and putting them in a small rucksack.

He came out of the room and looked at the humans.

"I'm going to do what I can to stop them." Said Lion-O over his shoulder as he dashed out.

"You two stay here." Said Lion-O as he went faster.

"Like hell I'm staying here!" Yelled Adam as he and Carter ran after Lion-O.

They followed him as they went down to the stables.

As Lion-O got his riding animal ready for them, they both heard a loud boom, and they turned in the direction it had come from.

Lion-O, fearing the worst, got on his riding animal, and Adam mounted up their own riding animal.

They headed over to the arena, which was one of the few areas still standing in all the rubble around the palace.

When they arrived, they saw that Grune was wearing a different Armor, and seemed to be the one in control of all the lizards, ordering them around as they slowly surrounded Claudus and Tygra.

"Your rule has come to a long overdue end, Claudus." Said Grune from the arena, where a cat that must be Panthro was being held captive at the top of the branches.

"Now drop your inferior weapons!, how can you defeat technology if you don't even understand it?" Asked Grune as the lizards pointed their weapons, be it bladed guns, or just plain normal guns, at the two cats.

Lion-O growled and pulled out one of the explosives.

"Luckily, I know a thing or two about it, you traitor!" Yelled Lion-O as he touched the screen and flung out the bomb at one of the gigantic robotic lizards, having it land successfully on his back.

He flung out two others and watched as they exploded not long after the first one.

Once the smoke from the explosions had cleared, Claudus looked up to see Lion-O on his riding animal, Adam and Carter beside him with animals of their own.

Claudus stood up and walked towards him, bowing once, then turning around and began walking away.

"Where are you going?" Asked Lion-O in confusion.

"To show the lizards that the Sword of Omens is the greatest weapon of them all." Said Claudus, drawing the sword from where it rested in the gauntlet.

Both Humans watched with wide eyes as the small blade grew, bolts of lightning shooting out from it.

"ThunderCats! Ho!" Yelled Claudus as he held the sword up high, letting the lightning pour out from the blade before running at the army of lizards.

With a single swipe, he had taken out six lizards.

Another swipe and he had taken out twelve.

Adam and Carter watched as he easily climbed up the branches heading for Grune.

Grune pulled out his own weapon which looked like a spiked, bludgeoning object and pointed one end at Claudus.

The weapon separated into three parts, green lighting generating between each piece, and a huge bolt of it shot out at Claudus, who held up his sword and stopped the lightning from hitting him.

He battled with it for a moment before having the lightning blast shoot away from him and he jumped up to where Grune was, his sword clashing with his weapon.

Grune was easily knocked away onto the branch and he lay there.

Adam's eyes narrowed suspiciously, noticing Grune was taken out far too easily.

He felt a vibration and looked down at his chest and the War Stone kept glowing as though something was about to happen.

Claudus climbed up to the top where Panthro was bound.

Lion-O started going over to where his father was, calmly climbing up the branches.

Tygra doing the same, not because he felt something was wrong, but because he wanted to be by his father's side.

Claudus cut through the chains holding Panthro, who collapsed to the ground once they were released.

"You- You came for me." Said Panthro in surprise.

Claudus smiled and knelt down in front of him, putting his hand on his shoulder.

"I'd fight an army twice that size for you, old friend." Said Claudus.

He stood back up and held his sword up high.

"Now help me!" Yelled Claudus but did not notice Panthro's eyes darken and he pulled out a knife.

Lion-O saw the knife, and started climbing faster.

"Father!" Yelled out Lion-O.

Claudus looked at them confusedly, then roared out in pain when Panthro stabbed him in the back with the knife.

"No!" Yelled Lion-O.

Panthro easily pushed Claudus away, watching him as he fell into the water.

Lion-O and Tygra quickly dove in after him and pulled him up from the water.

Adam and Carter were in shock at what they saw they knew Claudus was... difficult to deal with but they didn't want him dead saw the water around them turn into a misty, red colour from Claudus's blood.

Lion-O and Tygra lay their father down onto the ground.

"Father!" Yelled Lion-O in desperation as he was trying to get him to wake up.

Claudus opened his eyes, which now seemed cloudy as his life began to slip away.

"No matter what happens, you've made me proud today." Said Claudus as he let out a soft breath and closed his eyes.

The gauntlet he wore suddenly dimmed in colour, changing from a lovely bronze, to a darkened one, rusted and weak.

Above them, Panthro chuckled darkly.

Lion-O looked up at him, glaring with anger in his eyes.

"You, a traitor, too, Panthro?!" Asked/Yelled Lion-O in digust.

This made Adam and Carter confused, the prophecy said only a friend of Claudus would betray him, not two.

"Not quite." Said Panthro with an evil grin on his face.

"Have you not considered that if technology is real, then so are the things of your worst nightmares?" Asked Panthro.

Everyone then noticed that his voice changed from deep to weak and hoarse.

He was suddenly engulfed in a blue fire, and his form burned away to one that was seen in the worst nightmares.

The decayed, mummified body of an ancient demon with red eyes.

"Mumm-Ra." Said Lion-O in shock, hoping he was never real.

"Clerics!" Shouted A Voice from somewhere.

They all looked to see Jaga and his clerics standing on the remains of the arena's walls.

"To the death!" Yelled Jaga.

They all jumped up and leapt towards the demon, who gave them a terrifying smile.

"You are but insects, to the power of Mumm-Ra! The ever-living!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

They were all but two blasted back by his power.

Adam, Carter, Lion-O and Tygra heard hisses and looked to see the lizards had surrounded them, pointing their weapons at them.

Mumm-Ra raised a clawed hand up high.

"Thundera has fallen!" Yelled Mumm-Ra to the entire Lizard Army.

The lizards hissed and cheered loudly, claiming their victory in the battle.

Adam looked outside of the cell window, looking over Thundera's destruction.

"We lost our kingdom, our father, and the sword." Said Tygra, trying to distract himself over what just happened.

"We lost everything." Said Lion-O with depression.

"This is my fault." Said Adam.

Everyone looked at Adam in confusion, how was this his fault.

"I didn't know what it meant at the time, but I saw a vision during the ceremony." Said Adam as he turned to look at the others.

"It was Mumm-Ra." Said Adam, now realizing what the vision meant.

"And you told no one?!" Snapped Tygra in anger, getting up from where he sat to glare at the human.

"This is exactly why you weren't wanted here, your decisions bring disaster!" Yelled Tygra in his face.

"Suppertime." Said a voice outside the cell, and a familiar lizard came by the cell, giving them four bowls of slop.

"I brought you a very special meal." Said the lizard.

Adam ran up to the cell gate, putting his hands on the bars.

"Hey, remember me?" Asked Adam.

"I granted you mercy, a chance for peace between your species, and this is how you repay me?" Asked Adam in anger.

The lizard averted his eyes and turned away.

"You can't even look at me!" Yelled Adam.

"Just eat your supper!" Yelled The lizard as he was walking away.

Adam looked down at the food in depression, but his eyes lit up when he saw something glinting in the light of the prison in one of the bowls.

He reached down and went through it, trying to get a grip on it.

Tygra noticed what he was doing and walked over.

"What is it?" He asked.

Adam smiled when he got ahold of it.

"Sometimes, my decisions bring disaster, and sometimes, they bring a key." Said Adam as he took out a silver key from the food.

The lizards had Jaga and the other cleric in their grasp.

"These two are that remains of the fabled Guardians of the ground." Said a lizard.

Mumm-Ra looked closer at Jaga as he was thrown on the ground, his lips turning into a malicious smirk.

"You are Jaga." Said Jaga as he sat on Claudus's throne.

"Sorcerer to the dead king." Said Mumm-Ra.

"And you are even more grotesque than the stories suggested." Said Jaga as he was not even scared.

"Did your stories neglect to tell you that the stone hidden in your city is mine?" Asked Mumm-Ra as he showed an image of the War Stone, Jaga smirked as it appears Mumm-Ra did not know that it was already found.

He glared at Jaga,

"I want it back." Said Mumm-Ra.

"Even if I did know where the stone is, i'm afraid an ancient spell prevents the stone from being touched by the hands of evil." Said Jaga with a confident grin on his face.

"That is why you're going to remove the spell." Said Mumm-Ra with little patience he had left.

"Never!" Yelled Jaga.

"Then I will just have to find another way!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as held out his hands and three of his bandages came out and wrapped around Jaga's body, lifting him up in the air and blasted him with his magic as Jaga screamed in pain.

Above them Tygra had successfully taken out one of the lizard's guarding the area.

Lion-O and Adam, who was only a few feet away, saw him waving the guard's gun, showing that he had gotten him.

Lion-O nodded at him, then looked down to see Jaga.

Tygra aimed his new gun at the wrappings holding them up and shot through them, having them fall to the ground.

He smiled and looked at the gun.

"I could get used to this." Said Tygra, he ducked when one of the generals named Slithe, started shooting at him.

Adam leapt down from the balcony and ran to the sword, grasping it tightly in his hands.

"You want the stone so badly?" Asked Adam as he pulled down his hoodie to reveal the War Stone, much to Mumm-Ra's surprise.

The Stone chose him as a host? Thought Mumm-Ra as he wondered why one of the Power Stones would bond with a human boy.

"Then take it!" Yelled Adam.

Soon Adam held out his hand and held out the sword and it shot out a bright beam of red light like the one from the festival and it pushed Mumm-Ra through the wall of the castle to the outside, where the morning sun was just beginning to rise.

"You cannot comprehend the forces you are dealing with, boy!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as he recovered.

"Ancient Spirits of evil, transform this decayed form into Mumm-Ra! The ever— Aah!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as he tried to incant a spell but e stopped, the light from the sun burning him and causing him pain, making him hide beneath his red cloak, which Adam noticed.

Inside, as Tygra jumped down after Adam with Lion-O behind him, surprised at what Adam did.

Tygra freed the cleric from where she was bound, and she took out the two lizards who were trying to stop her, and she looked over at the two brothers, who looked back at her in shock.

"Cheetara?" Asked Tygra in surprise.

"She's a cleric?" Asked Lion-O, just as surprised as Tygra.

He ducked when the lizards began firing their weapons at them, and he looked around.

Carter soon jumped down.

"Let's go!" Yelled Carter as he and the others ran away.

Grune began to help Mumm-Ra as he noticed them get away.

"After them!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

The lizards began shooting again.

Jaga went to a torch on the wall, and turned it to the side, opening up a secret door.

"Quickly, through here!" Yelled Jaga.

Everyone went in, Snarf going in first.

Jaga waited until everyone was inside the door, Lion-O got in just before him, and he started walking in.

One of the lizards fired off his weapon and hit Jaga in his back just before the door closed.

Cheetara went back and helped her mentor to his feet, putting his arm around her shoulders as they walked through the hallways.

The walls were shaking from the force of the lizards trying to shoot through the door that led to the secret passageway.

"Before we go any further, there is something that must be done!" Yelled Jaga said as they came to the other side of the walkway, just on the other side of safety.

"It can wait." Said Cheetara,

Jaga stopped and gently pushed her aside so he could stand up.

"It must be now!" Yelled Jaga with a no argument tone.

He gestured Adam to come forawrd.

Adam came up to them, standing in front of Jaga.

Jaga nodded at him.

"Your left arm." Said Jaga.

Though confused Adam held it out as he asked, and Jaga took Claudus's gauntlet, which Cheetara had grabbed before they had run into the passageway, and put it on Adam's arm.

Adam looked curiously at the gauntlet, moving his fingers inside it.

Jaga reached out for it and rested his hand on it.

Cheetara, Lion-O and reluctantly Tygra doing the same, and after a second, another hand reached out and rested near Tygra's, whose hand was the last one to touch the gauntlet.

Everyone looked to see Carter join in this ceremony.

Jaga nodded once at him in admiration of his friendship with Adam,

"For the Eye of Thundera, and the Sword of Omens." Said Jaga.

Jaga tapped the gauntlet with his staff, and the bronze of it no longer seemed dim.

It seemed as bright and as beautiful when Claudus had worn it.

Jaga used his staff as a crutch as he stood up.

"Now, Adam, the new Lord of the Third Earth, go." Said Jaga.

Everyone was confused, Lord of Third Earth, does that mean Adam was king now? and why did he give the gauntlet and sword of Omens to Adam and not Lion-O, the rightful heir?

"You're going with us, Jaga!" Yelled Cheetara, standing up, deciding to ignore the questions for now.

"I will only slow you down." Said Jaga.

"At least this way, I can buy you time to get to safety." Said Jaga as he reached out and put his hand on Adam's shoulder.

"The Book of Omens lies at the foot of the setting sun, you must find it before Mumm-Ra does." Said Jaga, finally giving them information on the Book.

"I can't do this alone!" Said Adam as he was trying to convince Jaga to come with them.

"You won't have to." Said Jaga.

"You have everything you need, Adam, whatever questions remain, the answers are in the Book of Omens, find it, Now." Said Jaga as he pushed Adam forward

"Go!" Yelled Jaga.

Everyone jumped as the doors to the secret entrance were suddenly blown open.

Jaga waved them forward.

"Go!" Yelled Jaga in a now commanding tone.

They did as he ordered, and ran through the tunnel.

As Jaga fought off the oncoming lizards, Adam couldn't help but steal a glance back at the old cat as he fought back.

One of the weapons landed a hit on him, and a cloud of dust appeared from it as Jaga cried out in pain.

The second door to the escape tunnel closed behind them before Adam could go back and help him.

Cheetara pulled him along as they ran through the escape tunnel.

At the end, they came out of a tunnel that overlooked the entire kingdom.

Everyone gazed down at the rubble that remained of the kingdom.

"This is only the beginning." Said Adam as he knew this was not over yet.

Meanwhile the mysterious woman from before came up to Thundera's gates and saw Thundera itself destroyed.

She was suddenly confronted by a lizard warrior who held a gun to her.

But as he shoots, she dodge them really fast and used her black sword to decapitate the lizard.

She wiped the blood off her blade on the ground and walked on ahead to where Adam and the others are currently hiding.


	8. Ramlak Rising

After barley escaping Mumm-Ra, the group had to wait before the lizard's left so they could do a funal for Clauds.

After instructions Adam used the sword of Omens to carve the Thundercats Symbol and a burning funeral pyre a few feet away from them with Claudus's corpse in it.

Lion-O turned to it.

"Rest now to rise again, father." Said Lion-O with sadness, knowing he will never see his father.

"May your next life show you peace." Said Tygra with a sad tone on his voice.

After a moment of respectful silence Adam and Carter walked off to gain supplies for their journey.

Lion-O turned to the others.

"We should move out while the lizards' trail is still fresh, Mumm-Ra's lair is probably past the sand sea, so we have quite a journey ahead of us." Said Lion-O.

"Mumm-Ra?" Asked Cheetara in confusion.

"Jaga told us to first seek out the Book of Omens, those were my teacher's last words to us." Said Cheetara with a sad tone on her voice as she remembered how her teacher died.

"The Book can wait, it has for centuries." Said Lion-O with a no argument tone.

"But only the Book can provide us answers, Lion-O." Said Tygra as he tried to reason with his brother.

"Answers?" Asked Lion-O in anger.

"I already who destroyed our city, who killed our king!, what other answers do you need, If it was either one of us on that funeral pyre, father would have already buried that demon! I intend to do him the same justice!" Yelled Lion-O with anger.

"You're angry, Lion-O." Said Cheetara as she was trying to reason with him.

"I should hope I'm not the only one!" Yelled Lion-O.

"We're going after Mumm-Ra, and that's a command." Said Lion as he turned and started walking.

"You aren't the king, Lion-O." Said Tygra as he remembered what Jaga said.

"Adam is this 'Lord of Third Earth', I don't know what that is but that mean's Adam's in charge, not you." Said Tygra.

Everyone looked at Adam for his decision.

"Look Lion-O I know you want revenge for Mumm-Ra for what he had done to your father and kingdom but we're in no shape to fight, we're outnumbered as it is." Said Adam with reason.

"So my first act as Lord of Third Earth, we're going after the Book of Omens." Said Adam.

"We're going after Mumm-Ra." Said Lion-O firmly, not willing to change his mind.

"Well, we have to get to the Book of Omens to defeat Mumm-Ra!" Yelled Adam as he was getting aggravated with his stubbornness.

"If you're really so set on getting your revenge, you can do it by yourself!" Yelled Adam.

"Fine!" Yelled Lion-O as he snapped.

Adam looked at him with wide eyes.

He watched as he walked away, pulling on a cloak.

"Idiot." Mummbled Carter.

Though reluctantly Adam had ordered them to follow Lion-O, he figured that Lion-O will come to his senses sooner or later.

Adam stopped for a bit when he thought he heard something but thought it was his imagination.

They walked through the gates of the city, past the battlefield where the lizards fought the cats.

Bits of technology were lying around everywhere, be it guns, or robots, or some kind of other piece of technology.

As they walked along the path, they were met with a surprise.

Two young kittens ran out and smiled, looking up at Lion-O in awe.

"I can't believe it!" Said The Female Kitten.

"Prince Lion-O and Tygra to the rescue!" Yelled the Male Kitten came up in front of Lion-O.

"The names are WilyKat and Kit!" Yelled Kat as he introduced.

"We thought we were the only cats left!" Yelled Kat as he though he thought he found gold.

Lion-O ignored them and walked on.

The two kids glanced at each other confusedly wondering why he was acting like this, but they didn't give up.

They ran up behind Lion-O and kept speaking to him.

"Maybe we can join you until we get where we're going." Said Kit.

"El Dara, the city of treasure." Said Kit.

"Never heard of it." Said Lion-O.

"Of course not." Said Kat as he was pulling out a scroll.

"I've got the only proof." Said Kat as he unrolled the scroll to show a picture of a city of sort.

"No." Said Lion-O firmly without even a second glance.

The two kids stopped walking, and pouted sadly.

"Please?" Asked Kit with a tone that sounded like she didn't want to be alone.

Lion-O didn't say anything.

"We can't just leave them here, Lion-O." Said Adam.

"We're on a mission to avenge my father, and you want to play babysitter?" Asked Lion-O as though he thought Adam was joking.

"They're just gonna have to take care of themselves, Now, let's go." Ordered Lion-O as he walked on.

Tygra and Cheetara exchanged uncertain glances and followed Lion-O.

The two kittens go up and started making cute little mewing noises and big doe eyes at Lion-O in order to convince him to let them go with him.

"I said no." Said Lion firmly.

They frowned when their attempt didn't work and stopped walking.

"Sorry, kids." Said Tygra as he walked past them.

The two siblings glanced at each other, then started walking behind the group.

"Just so you know, we're not following you." Said Kat.

"You're just walking in front of us." Said Kit.

They began traveling for four days and Lion-O never showed signs of giving up his quest for vengeance.

Everyone sighed heavily as they sat down in the shade of one of the huge stone pillars that surrounded the desert area they were in.

The sand sea supposedly wasn't too far away from that place, but it was still a long journey.

And trekking through sand was not helping their current condition.

"We've lost the trail, Lion-O." Said Tygra when he saw Lion-O looking around for a sign of the lizard army.

"And our supplies are dangerously low." Said Cheetara as she was checking the bag that held their rations and finding it to be empty.

"I don't care, we keep moving forward." Said Lion-O firmly.

He started walking away from their group, and everyone sighed.

Snarf collapsed on the ground tiredly.

He looked ahead and let out a surprised cry.

Kit, and Kat looked to see what it was and their jaws dropped in surprise.

"What is that?!" Asked/Yelled Kat.

Lion-O ran back to their group and saw what they saw.

The sand of the desert was moving and shifting like ocean waves, and it was even spilling out and crashing against the sand like a wave would.

"Snarf just found the sand sea, Mumm-Ra's lair must be just on the other side." Said Lion-O as he looked for a way to get across.

They all walked to the shore of the sand sea.

"Do you see a way around it?" Asked Tygra.

Kit gasped when she saw something she had been craving for a while.

"I think I see something better!" Yelled Kit and she was pointing to the pile of fruit and meat sitting out on the waves.

"Food!" Yelled Lion-O in disbelief.

Everyone cheered happily and ran into the sand sea, heading straight for the huge pile of food.

The two kids were the first ones to reach it and they crashed down on it happily, making it go flying.

Everyone picked up a piece of food and started chowing down.

"Hey, anyone else wondering where all this came from?" Asked Adam as he noticed that this food came from nowhere mysteriously.

Everyone shared glances, a sudden sense of dread filling them up.

Only a second later did something come rushing towards them through the sand, and the group was caught up in a hidden net and pulled into the air.

Everyone screamed as they headed for a ship, landing on its deck.

Lion-O growled furiously and glared at the fish man looking down at them with huge, green eyes.

He looked koi fish someone might find in a pond.

"Quite the catch, I'd say." Said the Koi fish as he was looking at them in the net.

The other members of the crew gathered around the net, looking at them with hungry eyes.

"What's all that racket?" Asked a voice that shouted from nowhere.

The crew looked over at another fish man who had lost one eye, and half a leg.

"That better be the Ramlak you spineless jellyfish are carrying on about." Said the fish man as he walked up going over the group with a discerning eye and then he scoffed.

"Another worthless haul." Said the fish man.

He turned to a larger fish man next to him who wore a chef's hat and carried a pair of kitchen knives.

"Take what the crew doesn't eat of them, and turn it into chum." Said the fish man.

The chef fish smiled devilishly and started sharpening his knives.

The fish who had given the order kept speaking as everyone was pulled out of the net and tied up together with one rope.

"That bait was meant for the beast, i'm tired of you lot pulling in more worthless catches like these!" Yelled the fish man at his crew.

"I am Adam Ordeis, Lord of Third Earth, and I order you to release us!" Yelled Adam.

The one-legged fish man looked at Adam in surprise, then he and the crew laughed heartily.

"It talks!" Yelled the fish man with a grin.

"And it's still got some fight in it, well, Adam Ordies, Lord of Third Earth, I am Koinelius Tunar, captain of this ship, and I order you fileted!" Yelled Koinelius.

"Let's start with the little ones, their meat'll be the most deliciously tender." Said the chef fish as he was sharpening his knivies.

Kit and Kat looked up at the big fish fearfully.

Suddenly, the ship lurched, sending everyone who was standing to the floor.

Everyone watched with wide eyes as a huge, green tentacle came up to the ship and grabbed one of the crew members by the leg and pulled him into the sand sea.

"The Ramlak." Mumbled Koinelius to himself.

"At long last, my wretched quarry returns!" Yelled Koinelius.

A loud, deep growling noise was heard from the sand as more tentacles poked out from below.

One of them slammed down on the ship and one of the crew members picked up a harpoon gun and fired at it.

The harpoon pierced through it and the creature roared out in pain, retracting its tentacle into the sand, pulling the crewman, who still held onto the harpoon, with it.

It swung the fish man around, making the harpoon come out from the tentacle, throwing the crewman against the ship, making him drop his gun and having it slide away from him.

Cheetara reached out with her foot to stop it and carefully moved it so the blade of the harpoon would go up against the ropes they were bound in.

The creature below the ship brought up one of its tentacles and started tearing through the ship, making some of the crew members run away in fear.

The captain watched them run with wide eyes.

"Come on, you filthy maggots!" Yelled Koinelius to his crew.

"This is the moment we've waited for, Fight!" Yelled Koinelius at the top of his lungs.

As the creature tore up the ship, Cheetara and Tygra were carefully moving the blade of the harpoon to cut through the ropes they were bound in.

When the ropes snapped they all got up and went to help fight the creature that was attacking them.

Once they got closer, a tentacle wrapped around each of them, pulling them up into the air.

After a little squirming and struggling Carter finally managed to get one hand free and he blasted fire from his hands that was sharp enough to cut the skin of the creature holding her.

In its pain, it released him, and he got back on the deck.

Adam pulled out his sword and cut through his tentacle, and the tentacle holding Kat and Kit and Lion-O.

Koinelius looked upon them in awe, and then turned back to his crew.

"The food's fightin' better than you!" Yelled Koinelius to his crew.

He walked over to Lion-O with a grin.

"That's the spirit, boy-o, show this cowardly crew how it's done!" Yelled Koinelius.

As a tentacle came closer to him, Koinelius sliced through it with his sword.

Carter was using his elemental powers to keep the tentacles as far away from him as possible and if they got too close he'd perform a slicing water blade to cut it away.

Tygra was shooting each of the tentacles with the gun he'd stolen from the lizards.

Cheetara was using her staff as a powerful weapon and her speed alone making the tentacles come off.

Kat and Kit had bitten down on one of the tentacles, refusing to let it escape their jaws.

All of this was too much for the creature, and it began to retreat, retracting its many tentacles and keeping itself below the sand as it moved away.

"Run you coward, you can't escape me forever, i'll follow ya straight to the flamin' pits of Magmel before I give you up!" Yelled Koinelius .

The creature disappeared completely from sight, and everyone was safe for now.

Adam turned to Koinelius with an angry glare.

"Now, what were we talking about before the interruption?" Asked Adam as he was prepared to fight the man.

"I believe we were discussing how we'd filet you, but had I'd known you were such fine warriors, I would have gladly served my own first mate to you on a platter." Said Koinelius as he put's his fin on Adam's shoulder.

Carter noticed the look on the koi fish man's face when he said this.

"Listen up, fishies!" Yelled Koinelius as he turned to his crew.

"These fine fellows are our new shipmates, so treat 'em like you would your own scaly brothers!" Yelled Koinelius.

He then turned to the cook.

"And fetch the little ones some food." Said Koinelius.

"Food!" Yelled out both Kat and Kit as they followed the cook below deck to get something to eat.

Koinelius turned to Lion-O.

"Let me give ya a tour of the ship." Said Koinelius as he walked away.

Lion-O following him as they started walking around the deck again.

The first mate smiled as he came over to Cheetara, Tygra, Adam and Carter.

"Welcome to the crew." Said the first mate as he was holding four brooms in his hands.

He gave one to Cheetara, who didn't look very pleased about it.

"Why don't I feel good about this, Tygra?" Asked Cheetara.

She looked around when she noticed Tygra wasn't there.

"Tygra?" Asked Cheetara.

She heard retching sounds and looked to see him hanging over the side of the ship, vomiting.

Soon everyone was doing their own thing up until they looked up and saw the sky was beginning to darken and looked to see they were sailing into a storm.

"Quit floppin' around, you lazy lubs!" Yelled Koinelius at his crew,

"The chase is on!" Yelled Koinelius.

Everyone dropped what they were doing and went to get prepared for the Ramlak.

The group wondered what they should do because they had no experience in this kind of thing.

"Thunderstorm just blew in ahead!" Yelled the First Mate.

"I advise we sail around it!" Yelled the First Mate.

"And lose the Ramlak's trail?" Asked Koinelius as he snatched the telescope out of the first mate's hands and looked ahead of them.

"Full speed ahead!" Yelled Koinelius.

"But captain, we'll never survive!" Yelled The first mate.

Lion-O dashed away from the captain and the first mate heading to the ship's wheel.

"The only thing that's not surviving is the Ramlak!" Said Lion-O said as he pushed the first mate out of the way and took the wheel.

"Into the storm we go!" Yelled Lion-O as he directed the ship into the storm.

Tygra, Cheetara, Adam and Carter all looked at him in shock.

"Lion-O this is madness, what are you doing?!" Asked/Yelled Adam.

"Not letting anything stand in my way!" Replied Lion-O at the top of his lungs.

"Not a storm, Not you!" Yelled Lion-O.

Everyone flinched back at his tone, having never been spoken to like that by him.

The way Lion-O was acting was really starting to scare them.

He was so set on revenge that he wouldn't let them stop him from wasting his life doing it, and the fact that he wouldn't even let them help was something that worried them.

They looked up as Koinelius came up beside Lion-O as they followed the Ramlak through the sand.

"Faster, faster!" Yelled Koinelius.

"I can taste its foul breath on the wind!" Yelled Koinelius.

"Captain, please!" Yelled Cheetara as she pleaded with him.

"The ship won't survive long in this storm!" Yelled Adam.

"We need to turn back!" Yelled Carter also.

"I see you're just as soft as the rest of the chum on this ship!" Yelled Koinelius to them.

He then turned to Lion-O.

"Come on, lad, It's you and me!" Yelled Koinelius.

"I'm right beside you, Captain." Said Lion-O.

He followed the captain onto the deck, and when he ordered him to.

Lion-O climbed up the mast and onto the top of the sails, taking out his sword to slice any projectiles that were flying around in the storm.

Koinelius went to a device at the front of the ship and started blasting away the bigger ones.

"Isn't it exhilarating?" Asked Koinelius with a laugh.

"Don't forget to save some for the Ramlak!" Yelled Lion-O as he was laughing with him.

Everyone looked up at Lion-O worriedly as he kept slicing away.

Adam looked ahead for them and his eyes widened at the sight of the Ramlak as it came up from the sand, giving a huge roar.

"It's surfacing, now's our chance!" Yelled Koinelius with excitement.

The crew stood ready with their harpoons, but they certainly weren't ready to face the creature.

The Ramlak was like a large tube flower of some kind with red tentacles surrounding its mouth at the top of its body.

It had tentacles that could crush the ship in two with a single blow.

Adam and Carter felt like this is what the Moby Dick story was like.

One of the tentacles slammed down against the ship.

Koinelius went up to the blaster at the front of the ship looking at Lion-O.

"You ready, my boy?" Asked Koinelius.

Lion-O held up a harpoon gun.

"Always." Replied Lion-O.

He fired it at the Ramlak but only to have it get stuck in its flesh and pulled away from him.

He pulled his gun back at it while Koinelius blasted at its head.

Everyone ducked down when one of the tentacles wrapped around the mast of the ship breaking it off and having it crash down onto a part of the ship destroying it.

The tentacles easily knocked back the crew members that tried to keep it away.

"Take out the arms!" Yelled Koinelius to the crew.

"Then we go for the head!" Yelled Koinelius.

Everyone did as he ordered.

Carter used his water powers to start attacking it, slicing the tentacles off with the water it resides in.

Tygra used his gun to take out each one while Cheetara used her staff like before.

Adam used the Sword of Omens to slice though it's tenetacles.

The Ramlak grabbed onto the ship with its tentacles, getting a good grip on it and squeezing it.

It slowly began to crush the ship and the device that kept it above the sands was broken causing the ship to fall into the sand and the crew members fell off the ship into the sand as well.

The sand was shifting so much.

They couldn't find the strength to get back to the ship.

It was as if they were in water, and they were going to sink down in it.

Lion-O saw the distressed crew as they called for help.

He looked at them worriedly wanting to go and help them.

"What are you doing?" Asked Koinelius.

"Don't stop, lad, Its end is nigh!" Yelled Koinelius.

"The crew, they're going to drown!" Yelled Lion-O.

"Never mind them!" Yelled Koinelius.

"We can always get a new crew. We finish this now, before he submerges again!" Yelled Koinelius

"Isn't it the crew we're fighting for?" Asked Lion-O as he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Don't tell me you've gone soft like the rest!" Yelled Koinelius in exasperation as he picked up a harpoon gun.

"I guess I am." Said Lion-O.

He jumped away on various pieces of the ship to try and help the crew.

Everyone saw Koinelius shoot a harpoon at the Ramlak just as it began to submerge, he followed it down with a maniacal laugh.

Adam stood up and shouted over.

"Everyone, over here!" Yelled Adam.

The crew followed his voice and swam through the sand to the wreckage that was still intact and stable enough for them to be on.

Carter reached out and helped Kit and Kat onto the wreckage and Snarf quickly climbed up his arm and up to his shoulders.

Once everyone had at least grabbed onto the wreckage.

Lion-O used a harpoon gun to shoot at the leftover piece of the ship's hull and began pulling it towards them so everyone would be able to rest on it until the storm passed.

Kat and Kit cheered him on as he kept pulling on the rope.

Wanting to help, Carter put his feet the water and moved over the sand to the other side of the hull.

He increased the flow of the water at his feet.

Once it was close enough everyone climbed onto it and rested and was tired from the adrenaline rush of being caught up in the storm and in a battle against the Ramlak.

Carter got up and rested on the hull next to Kit and Kat, who quickly grabbed onto him and huddled up for warmth in the cold winds as the storm went on.

Once it died down, and everyone was calm, Cheetara, Tygra and Adam went over to Lion-O.

"You steered us into quite a storm, Lion-O." She Cheetara with a small smile.

"I know, I lost sight of what's important, and for that, I'm-" Said Lion-O as he was about to apologize for his actions when he was interrupted by a roar as the Ramlak resurfaced.

Its mouth opened up and two tentacles came out and wrapped around Lion-O's body, pulling him up.

"Lion-O!" Yelled Cheetara.

"Give him back you slimy sack of tentacles!" Yelled Kat.

The beast didn't listen as it swallowed Lion-O whole and moved back down for another bite.

Adam jumped up and sliced off the creatures head and then sliced it's body.

Following that was a huge blast of water that quickly surrounded them.

The crew cheered in joy at the sight of it, because the Ramlak was defeated, and their oasis had returned to them.

Lion-O's body came up to them.

Adam ran to him.

"Lion-O!" Yelled Adam.

Despite being in the Ramlak's stomache briefly Lion-O looked like he was digested.

"I-I am sorry." Said Lion-O with a gasping breath.

"Don't be, you made up for it at the last second." Said Adam.

"I can see why you were chosen to be the one to use the Sword of Omens." Said Lion-O.

Then with one final gasp his body felt limb.

Tygra, Cheetara, Carter and Kittens were sad to see Lion-O die.

Adam couldn't help but feel guilt, he could have done more.

The Ramlak turned into a shrivelled up plant that was quickly burned by the fish men and had its ashes buried in a single hole outside the shore of their home.

The first mate came up to Adam as a few other crewmembers were giving the group a special boat for them to travel across the sand sea with.

"Thanks to you, we have our home back." Said the First Mate to Adam and clasped his hand with his scaly one.

"I'm sorry about your captain." Said Adam.

"It was his own foolish choice that led him to his sandy grave, but I am sorry for your friend though." Replied The first mate with a sad expression on his face.

"We'd better get moving before the sun sets." Said Tygra as he had taken his place at the small boat's wheel.

"So, what orders do you have for your crew?" Asked Cheetara.

"Set our course for the Book of Omens." Replied Adam.

"Aye-aye, Captain." Said Carter with a wide grin as he gave him a salute.

"And what should we do about these two stowaways?" Asked Tygra as he pointed his claw at Kat and Kit, who gave him cute smiles.

"As long as they can prove they can take of themselves from here to the end of our journey, their more then welcomed to stay." Said Adam as he knew Lion-O was right about one thing, the didn't have time to play babysitting on their adventure.

"Yahoo!" Yelled the Kittens happily.

Adam smiled at the scene as he stepped onto the boat and they rode off, away from the sand sea and going to find the Book of Omens.

Meanwhile at a desert was a huge black pyramid in the middle.

Inside could be heard screaming which is revealed to be Jaga, alive but trapped inside some magic sphere with Mumm-Ra and Grune behind him.

Grune turned to Mumm-Ra.

"If Jaga knew were the Book of Omens was, Claudus would never have sent Panthro and I to look for it, the Swords of Omens is what's important." Said Grune,

"Is that so Grune?" Asked Mumm-Ra as he was not convinced.

"If he indeed has nothing to hide, then explain why he so fiercely resists my efforts to probe his mind?" Asked Mumm-Ra.

Jaga kept screaming as though he was in pain.

"The Sword of Omens is but a part of a bigger picture, the Book of Omens is what's important." Said Mumm-Ra.

He walked over to the magic sphere.

"Your magic is strong wizard, but today you will break." Said Mumm-Ra.

He blasted his magic at the sphere which caused more pain for Jaga.

"Where is the Book?" Asked Mumm-Ra as he was growing impatient.

Jaga looked at Mumm-Ra.

"You know I'll die before reveal the Book's location." Replied Jaga.

Mumm-Ra held up a black lantern.

It began to suck all the around where Jaga was.

Jaga screamed once more as he was being pulled to the lantern.

"Come now, don't be afraid." Said Mumm-Ra with a smirk.

Soon Jaga was inside the lantern and became nothing more then a disembodied ghost like head.

"The Dark Magic in this lantern will force you to show the location of the Book of Omens." Said Mumm-Ra as he held the Black Lantern.

Jaga tried to resist but eventfully the lantern overpowered.

With a scream the lantern let a bright light which goes through the Black Pyramid and across the desert it resides in.

Mumm-Ra begins to laugh.


	9. Song of the Petalars

The lizard army has been trying to find the group since they escaped Thundera.

The lizards that are being lead by Slithe.

So far they have not found a trace of where they could have gone.

"Their Trail's gone cold." Said Slithe.

"No Slithe, it's still here." Said a voice next to Slithe but nobody was there.

Suddnely a lizard showed himself as he was in a tree like he was a chameleon or something.

"You just can't see it." Said the lizard.

He looked in the other direction.

"Kask, What have you found?" Asked the lizard.

Another lizard named Kask had emerged from the water.

He held something in his claw.

"Food Scraps from upriver where they must be." Said Kask as he dropped fish bones to the ground to show to the lizards.

A giant muscular lizard bent down and sniffed the fish bones.

"How far, Sauro?" Asked the lizard.

Sauro stood up.

"Less then a day away." Replied Sauro.

"Then let's triple our pace." Said Slithe.

The three lizards disappeared.

"The prize is close." Said Slithe as he rubbed his chin.

Soon the lizards began moving towards the location of where the ThunderCats are.

Nightfall came and the ThunderCats began camp for the night.

Kat circled around his sister with a sly smirk.

"Well, you don't have to if you're scared." Said Kat teasingly.

"I'm not scared!" Yelled Kit as she looked away.

"It's just." Said Kit with hesitation.

"Scaredy cat, Scaredy cat!" Yelled Kat in a sing song voice as he was pointing at her.

"Fine, I'll do it!" Yelled Kit.

Kat stepped back as Kit looked down at the Froog, a creature that resembled a normal frog in only the way that they were both amphibious.

It was a tall creature with big yellow eyes, six sticky legs, and covered in orange bumps.

Kit grimaced as she picked it up and, mustering up her courage and put her lips to the creature's mouth.

The Froog let out a croak as its long tongue shot out which causes Kit let out a shriek, dropping the creature and quickly wiping her mouth to get rid of the slimy residue left behind.

"I knew it!" Yelled Kat with a smile.

"WilyKit loves the froog! WilyKit loves the froog!" Yelled Kat in a song.

"No, I don't, you dared me!" Yelled Kit.

She started to chase after him, and he ran away with a cackle, going past where Older people were resting by the fire they had made.

"In the blink of an eye." Said Adam, watching them run around.

"Hmm?" Asked Cheetara as she looked up at him.

"Nothing." Said Adam, looking down at the ground.

"It's just, I keep thinking about all the people we've lost." Said Adam with a sad tone.

Cheetara looked at him sympathetically.

"Claudus, Jaga, Lion-O, I know it's not my fault they died but still I could have done something as well as your kingdom and because of me, we have nothing left." Said Adam in depression.

Cheetara reached over and put her hand over his comfortingly.

"That's not true Adam, we have the sword, we have the War Stone, we have each other, but most importantly, we have hope." Said Cheetara.

"Do we?" Asked Adam as he himself couldn't believe it.

Cheetara gave him a soft smile in return.

Snarf suddenly jumped up on Adam's head and made him fall back.

Adam got back up.

"Are you kidding me, now?" Asked Adam in annoyance.

"This better be very important, Snarf." Said Adam, wondering what could causing Snarf to act like that.

Snarf jumped down in Adam's lap, and kept trying to pull him to something, but stopped when a loud boom was heard.

Cheetara used her speed to get her up onto a tree branch that over looked the forest they were hiding in, and saw green lights of various technological war machines cutting their way through the trees and bushes.

A moment later, she was joined by Adam, Tygra, Carter, Snarf, Kat and Kit.

"It's the entire lizard army." Said Cheetara, recognizing their machines from their distance.

She looked over at Adam.

"Just say the word, Adam." Said Cheetara.

Adam looked down at the sword resting in his gauntlet, then looked up.

"No, If we stay here, we die." Said Adam.

He stood up, getting ready to leave, but Tygra jumped up.

"ThunderCats do not retreat!" Yelled Tygra in anger.

"With a situation this hopeless, I'll make an exception." Said Adam.

"Hope comes from action, isn't that what Claudus told us?" Asked Tygra trying to convice Adam to fight.

"And look what happened to him and Lion-O!" Yelled Adam.

"Now, come on." Said Adam as he jumped down from the branch and the others followed him as he led them away from the lizards.

Eventually, they came to a huge briar in a dome-like shape.

Everyone looked at it in awe, never having seen anything like it.

"They won't be able to follow us in there." Said Adam as he felt how strong the vines. are.

"You're asking us to, what, hide among the brambles until the lizards go away?" Asked Tygra in disbelief.

"This is not how we're going to win this war." Argued Tygra.

"I'm not asking." Said Adam as he jumped down and headed to find a way inside the briar.

"You may be king of us, but I'm still older than you!" Yelled Tygra as he knew Adam's age.

"And that makes you think your right?" Asked Carter in sarcasm as he jumped down, Snarf resting on his shoulders.

Tygra growled low in his throat at his words, but followed him down.

Adam directed them to a small entrance they could go through and went in first his sword cutting through the brambles to make a pathway for them to go through.

As they walked through they suddenly heard a soft, lulling sound.

"What is that?" Asked Cheetara as they seemed to get closer to the sound.

"It's music." Replied Carter as he was hearing a soft, beautiful tune among the sound.

When they got close enough to the source, Adam looked through a small hole in the thorny briars and saw a large circle of tiny people dressed in leaves that were singing a song to a small seed sitting in a basket in the centre.

Each one was singing a sweet tune, and the seed was quietly listening, a content look on its tiny face.

Adam cut through the branches so he and the others could get through.

The small people heard them, and stopped singing, all of them looked up in fear at Adam and the others, while they looked stunned to see them.

One of the tiny people who seemed to be pretty young, with a little purple flowery head and leaves for his body came crawling through the crowd and started firing off excited questions.

"What are you, I've never seen people like you before, are you from here in the briar?" Asked the child as he quickly walked up a briar branch talking a mile a minute, and he pointed to Adam's sword.

"What's that in your hands, did you make it?" Asked the child as he climbed up to the top of the branch where he could make solid eye contact with Adam, and happened to catch a glimpse of Snarf.

"You're not the same as the others, are you some kind of pet, do you grow from seeds like us, what's that red crystal in your chest, how tall are you anyway, Why are you covered with hair, What kind of—" Kept Asking the child but Adam cut him off by putting his pinky finger to his tiny mouth.

"Okay, slow down." Said Adam with an amused laugh.

"You sound like me when I was your age." Said Adam.

The little people, seeing that Adam and the others meant them no harm and welcomed them.

They asked them to come and sit and tell them about themselves if only to satisfy the young one's questions.

When he noticed that Adam and Carter weren't like the ThunderCats he started firing off questions at them and they answered each one as quickly as he asked them.

They all introduced themselves to the people and the little one looked up at them with wide awed eyes as one of the people of the village came forward.

"Well, since you've already met young Emerick, we are the Petalars, we come from a far-off paradise called The Garden, one day long ago, a great disaster befell our people a terrible wind, like none recorded in all our history, whipped through our homeland, and swept up the entire Petalar race, carrying us across the sky, and bringing us here, to Briar Woods, and here we have remained, stranded, for generations." Said the elder one.

"Generations?" Asked Tygra as he repeated what the old one said.

"Is this place so big that you couldn't find your way out in all that time?" Asked Tygra.

"But, we've got a map!" Yelled Emerick as he and his friend held up a leaf that was their map.

"It's very, very old, and it will lead us out of the briar to the Cliff of Winds, if we can find it, we'll be able to ride the winds all the way home." Said Emerick.

Adam reached down and picked up the old leaf, looking over the map.

"We'll help you, and together, we're both gonna find a way out of here, Emerick. I promise." Said Adam.

The Petalars all cheered loudly as Emerick jumped up and grabbed onto a piece of Adam's hair, swinging back and forth on it.

He only laughed as he started cheering.

"Hooray for Adam, Hooray for Adam!" Chanted Emerick.

Cheetara smiled.

"Seems like Emerick's found a hero." Said Cheetara.

"Hmph, he's too young to know better." Said Tygra.

Carter glared at him.

"At least he's not following a pompous, arrogant jack-ass who thinks he's right every little thing when he's not." Said Carter with a grin.

Tygra shot him a look.

They started at a small cliff, a little ways away from where the Petalars had made camp.

Cheetara was looking over the map, and then around them.

Bringing up the rear of the group, Adam and Carter were watching over Emerick, who was using one of the briar needles as a sword.

"I can't recognize a single landmark on this map." Said Cheetara as she kept looking around her, not knowing where they should go.

Adam and Carter watched in amusement as Emerick was practicing with his sword.

He looked up at Adam after a couple swings.

"When I grow up I want to be like you, Adam." Said Emerick.

"Enjoy your childhood, trust me, you'll miss it when it's gone." Said Adam as though he speaks from experience.

"But I want to be a hero!" Yelled Emerick in excitement.

"Can you give me sword lessons?" Asked Emerick.

"Well first, you can't just wave a weapon around like that." Said Adam as he took out his own sword to demonstrate.

"You need to concentrate, be more precise." Said Adam.

"Be more per, preh, pre-size." Said Emerick as he was having a little trouble pronouncing 'precise' as he copied Lion-O's movements.

"Right." Said Emerick.

Carter laughed for a bit

They looked up when they heard a loud squawk, and a huge, six-eyed bird came down and snatched Emerick up in its claws.

"Help me Adam!" Yelled Emerick.

Adam and Andrea ran after the bird.

"Emerick, fight back!" Yelled Adam.

Emerick jabbed at the bird's feet, and it dropped him.

Carter used his fire powers to blow the bird away so Emerick wouldn't get caught by it again.

They ran to where Emerick had fallen trying to find the little, purple-headed Petalar.

Finally they spotted him a few feet away, and they both sighed in relief.

"Emerick, you scared us half to death!" Yelled Carter with a relieved smile as he and Adam ran over to him.

When they got closer they noticed that it wasn't Emerick.

He was taller, leaner and looked a little more mature than he was supposed to be.

"Adam, Carter!" Yelled Emerick.

He said happily when he saw them.

"I thought I'd never see you two again." Said Emerick.

"Who are you, where's Emerick?" Asked Adam.

"What are you talking about Adam?" Asked Emerick with an amused smile,

"I'm Emerick, don't you recognize your old friend?" Asked Emerick.

"But Emerick is just a child." Said Carter as he was looking at him in disbelief.

"Maybe the last time you saw me." Said Emerick.

"But, I suppose I was lost in the woods a long time." Said Emerick.

Adam and Carter shared a glance and then looked back at Emerick.

"Uh, not that long." Said Adam.

Emerick smiled up at them.

"You never gave up trying to find me." Said Emerick.

"No problem." Said Carter in confusion.

Emerick jumped over a briar branch and started walking back to the main group of Petalars as Cheetara came up to them holding a small Petalar that was just a child much younger than Emerick was when they first met him.

"As the ancient Thunderian philosopher said, 'Time is relative'." Said Cheetara as she put the child down on the ground where he instantly began running around, chasing after a low-flying butterfly.

They looked at the child curiously as he ran around.

"This child was just a baby hours ago." Said Cheetara.

Adam and Carter looked at her in surprise.

"The Petalars entire existence seems to pass in the course of a single day." Said Cheetara.

When she mentioned this one of the older Petalars fell his body turning to old coloured leaves that floated around into the air.

"But from their perspective." Said Cheetara as she stopped for a bit.

"It's a lifetime." Said Adam as he realized it.

"Which means they only live one day." Said Carter as he realized it too.

"Which means we need to find that cliff and fast." Said Cheetara.

They began to move.

Cheetara looked at Tygra who was leading the Petalars with the map they had given them.

"Are we making any progress?" Asked Cheetara asked him, getting tired of walking around.

"If the map is meant to lead us into every single thorn bush in the briar, then yes, we're doing great!" Yelled Tygra in sarcasm.

Carter rolled his eyes at him.

"Well maybe if we got up those trees, see if we're going the right way?" Asked Carter.

"Unless you can use the air element, your not much help are you?" Asked Tygra as he kept walking.

Carter growled.

"At least I'm trying!" Yelled Carter.

Tygra ignored him as he kept walking.

Carter let out a frustared groan.

"What is his problem ever since we came to Third Earth he treats me and Adam like we're his enemies." Said Carter as he crossed his arms across his chest glaring at Tygra.

"He's just getting used to you two, give him some time." Said Cheetara as she defended Tygra.

"Time, we have been here for a over a week at least, how much time does he possibly need?" Asked Carter in frustration.

Cheetara sighed.

Carter went over to where Adam was bringing up the rear of the group, where he was watching Emerick practice with his thorn sword.

He turned his attention back to Emerick as he kept swinging, his movements more precise than when Adam had first given him advice on the subject.

"You're getting pretty good, Emerick." Said Adam.

"I hope so." Said Emerick with a smile.

"I've been practicing since I was a kid." Said Emerick.

He looked up when something caught his eye, and they saw that it was the bird from earlier, coming down to try and snatch up some more of the Petalars.

Emerick ran towards the bird.

"My old nemesis, we meet again." Said Emerick.

The bird landed and he quickly started jabbing at where it landed, its wings had a special, claw-like quality to them, so they acted as arms for the creature.

Emerick attacked them again and again, until the bird swung out his clawed wing and knocked the needle sword out of Emerick's hands.

He started running for it, not noticing how the bird was about to chomp down on him because he wasn't watching his back.

Carter blew the bird away with a blast of fire, and when that didn't get it away.

Adam came up and sliced at the bird, hitting its beak once and scaring it off.

Emerick saw this and scowled at Lion-O, running up to him.

"What are you doing?" He demanded, "I had him!"

"That was dumb, Emerick!" Yelled Adam as he scolded him.

"You could have gotten hurt!" Yelled Adam.

"You're not the boss of me!" Emerick.

"So don't tell me what to do!" Yelled Emerick.

He ran off to join the other Petalars.

"Teenagers." Said Adam as he sighed and was shaking his head.

They kept on walking.

It was dusk, now, and everyone was exhausted from walking around all day.

Carter and Adam caught glimpse of one of the older Petalars, who was just a young man when they first met him, fall to the ground, his body disintegrating into tiny leaves that floated off into the air.

Adam looked at where he had fallen sadly.

"What's the point of it all, Kingdoms rise and fall, lifetimes come and go, are any of us here long enough to even make a difference?" Asked Adam to himself.

Carter looked at him sadly.

"You sound like an old man talking like that." Said a voice.

They looked to see one of the adult Petalars was the one who said it.

His purple, flowery head having a familiar face to it.

"Emerick?" Asked Carter in surprise.

"With so many great adventures ahead of us, we still have a chance to make our marks." Said Emerick as he came up beside them.

Adam smiled.

"Yes, my friend." Said Adam.

"Many adventures, I hope." Said Adam.

"It can't be." Said Emerick as he was looking ahead of him.

He ran up and jumped up high enough to get the map out of Cheetara's hands, and looked it over.

He smiled when he looked at six, curling branches in the briar that formed an archway.

"This is it, the gateway to the Cliff of Winds!" Yelled Emerick.

He turned to the other Petalars.

"Once we get through this pass, we'll be free!" Yelled Emerick.

The Petalars cheered loudly and all started running towards the archway.

"Then let's go." Said Adam to the others, following the Petalars inside.

Carter heard a strange noise and turned to look back at what it was and cried out when he was shot down by something.

Adam ran to him, but was shot down as well.

"Adam!" Yelled Cheetara.

She and Tygra got ready to fight the opponent firing at them, who appeared as a lizard with incredible camouflaging abilities, but were stopped when a second lizard came down from above, knocking them both down.

A third lizard shot out a pair of electric weights at Kat and Kit tying them both together as they fell to the ground.

The lizards laughed at their catch, one of them putting his big foot to Adam's face.

"You were fools to try and outrun your fate." Said One of the lizards with a smirk.

"Outrun this!" Yelled Emerick as he ran towards the lizard with his needle sword at the ready.

The lizard easily knocked him away with his tail and he went back to where the other Petalars were.

Adam took his chance to stab the lizard with the sword.

The lizard began to hiss in pain as it filled his foot.

Seeing the chance, Cheetara got up and knocked one of the lizards out with her staff.

Tygra got up and knocked his head against one of them, knocking that one out.

Not wanting to risk hurting the Petalars flying around him.

Carter kicked one of the lizards in the gut and pushed them back into part of the briar with his earth powers.

"You can't fight what you can't see!" Said the camouflaging lizard.

"We can take care of that!" Yelled Kat as he and his sister threw two pieces of fruit at the lizard, the juice of it exposing him.

"I can see you now." Said Adam as he raised up his sword and knocked the lizard down.

Emerick climbed up on his body and pointed his sword towards the gateway.

"Charge!" Yelled Emerick.

All of the Petalars ran towards the gateway, going through it, Cheetara, Tygra, WilyKat, WilyKit, Snarf, Carter and Adam following.

It was too small for them to walk through, so they had to crawl through.

Adam was just behind Emerick as they went through.

"You were great out there, Emerick." Said Adam.

"You've really grown into quite the young man." Said Adam.

"Well, I had a pretty good role model." Said Emerick with a smile.

He ran forward with his needle sword held high.

"Now, the Cliff of Winds awaits!" Yelled Emerick.

Excited shouts came from the Petalars as they kept running through it.

At the end of the tunnel, though, their smiles fell, and it wasn't hard to see why.

It was a dead end, with only one of the briar branches curling up from under the ground.

"Uh, there's no cliff here." Said Kat.

Kat quickly put her finger in her mouth then pulled it back out holding it up in the air.

"Or winds, just more woods." Said Kat.

"I-I don't understand." Said Adam as he was looking around them.

Night had fallen, and it was too dark to travel anywhere in the briar, so the group decided to stay at wherever it was they ended up and get some rest, and figure out where they went wrong.

Carter and Tygra looked over the map, trying to decipher it.

"Maybe I misread the map." Said Tygra.

"There are a lot of trees we could have gotten confused at." Said Carter.

"Maybe we took a wrong turn somewhere." Said Cheetara.

"Or maybe there is no Cliff of Winds." Said Adam from where he was sitting beside Carter.

"Maybe the map is a lie." Said Adam.

"Perhaps our forefathers wanted to provide us with hope." Said Emerick

"Hope so we'd never stop looking for our way back home." Said Emerick.

"Is that all hope is, then?" Asked Adam sorrowfully.

"An illusion?" Asked Adam in sadness.

Carter suddenly had a strange scent fill his nostrils.

He sniffed at the air trying to figure out what it was exactly, but could only decipher one particular thing about the smell.

"Is something burning?" She asked.

Emerick gasped, and they all saw that the briar was burning, the fire was spreading slowly, not fast enough to kill them right away but it was no sudden burst of flames around them.

They saw small embers from the fire falling carefully over them.

"Things are about to get a little more hopeless." Said Tygra, seeing the fire.

"We have to retreat, again!" Yelled Adam in exasperation as he turned and headed for the exit.

Emerick stepped out in front of his feet, stopping him.

"No, we must go toward it!" Yelled Emerick.

"Towards the flames?" Asked Adam in shock.

"Are you crazy?" Asked Adam.

Emerick stepped closer to where one of the briar branches had curled up.

"Can you feel it, Adam?" Asked Emerick with a smile,

"Do you know what this is?" Asked Emerick.

They watched as the branch slowly uncurled, going up higher and higher until it was completely unfurled, going as high as the briar itself.

"The updraft from the fire." Said Carter as he saw it,

"It's making wind!" Yelled Emerick.

The Petalars all began to stand up and looked at the Cliff of Winds in awe.

"This is why you never give up hope!" Yelled Emerick as he raised his sword up high,

"We're going home!" Yelled Emerick.

The Petalars all started running towards it, picking up leaves, flowers, and other various things that would help to keep them afloat if they needed it.

Carter helped gather up some of the larger leaves that rested at the top of the briar branches by using his earth powers and handing them out to multiple Petalars.

Kat, Kit, and Snarf all helped with some of the others, and helping the youngest ones to get going up the branch.

Carter came over to Adam when he was done handing out different leaves and smiled at him.

He smiled back.

"I think that's everyone." Said Carter as he was watching as the steady train of Petalars walked up the branch to the top, floating away at the top and riding on the winds.

"Not quite everyone." Said Adam as he was pointing to one of the elder Petalars who was sitting still as they were watching the others leave.

His petals were a pale with faded shade of purple and he was simply being still, doing nothing.

Adam knelt down and picked the old man up in his hands.

"Hurry, there's not much time, literally." Said The old man as he fell onto his back in Adam's hands.

"This, I'm afraid, is the end of my journey." Said The old man quietly.

He shifted slightly and a small needle sword fell from his hands.

Carter gasped as he looked back at the old Petalar.

"Emerick?" Asked Adam as he was looking at the now old and withered Petalar.

"It's all right, old friend." Said Emerick.

"In the blink of an eye." Mumbled Adam sadly, knowing Emerick was dying.

"In the end, what matters isn't how long we've lived, but how fully we've lived." Said Emerick.

The other Petalars gathered around, singing.

"The good we've done, the friends we've made, the love we shared along the way." Said Emerick.

Adam's eyes began to fill with tears at the sight of him and Carter had tears of his own streaming down his cheeks but he did not sob.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get you to the Garden." Said Adam.

"It's the journey, Adam." Emerick said.

"Remember that." Said Emerick as he let out a soft sigh and his body went limp in Adam's hands.

They watched as his body disintegrated into small, purple leaves that flew up into the air.

Kit began to cry and Kat comforted her even though he was crying, too.

Carter saw that Adam was on the verge of crying himself.

he knelt down beside him, and embraced his shoulders in a hug.

Adam instantly took his comfort, putting his hand over his arm, taking a deep, shaky breath in and out.

After a moment, he stood up, and Carter let go of him as he stood up as well.

"It's time to go." Said Adam.

They went up on one of the risen, unfurled branches and watched as the Petalars floated up into the air on the wind.

The Petalars waved and shouted their goodbyes as they floated up into the air.

They watched them leave with an awed expression.

Seeing them fly away into the night was like watching a group of stars move across the sky.

It was a beautiful sight to behold.

They listened as Kit played a melodic tune to say goodbye to the Petalars, and felt their heart swayed by the music.

She wiped her eye when a tear began to fill it. Lion-O saw this and knelt down, putting a hand on her shoulder. She smiled at him and scooted in, leaning on his shoulder, watching as the new friends they had made flew off to their home.

Once they were finished, they went back down to the ground, the fire still spreading around them.

"So what now?" Asked Tygra.

"We can find another way out of here." Said Cheetara.

"Retreat, ThunderCats never retreat. I say we face the lizards, and hope for the best." Said Adam as he turned around and smiled at them.

Everyone smiled back at him, glad to see that Adam had his hopefulness about the situation again

"We're all leaves passing in the wind, here and then gone, but while we're here, we live to the fullest" Yelled Adam.

He reached up and grabbed the hilt of his sword and drew out his blade, a battle cry sounding, and the crystal in the sword lit up into the sky making the ThunderCats crest on the smoke from the fire.

Using the sword Adam was able carved a path for them through the briar straight to where the lizards were.

They all ran in ready to fight.

Adam cut down every lizard that stood in his way.

Tygra used his gun and shot down one soldier after another.

Cheetara using her staff, knocked away five lizards at a time.

Carter used his earth powers to push back ten lizards at a time.

Despite all their work though, they were all soon surrounded by the lizards with all of the weapons pointed right at them.

They all stood in a circle, back-to-back, as they waited for the lizards to fire off at them.

"There are too many of them." Lion-O said to the others.

"Claudus and Lion-O would have been proud of your bravery, Adam." Said Tygra.

"A glory I'm honored to share with all of you." Said Adam as he smiling at the others.

"My service to the crown has always been a cherished privilege." Said Cheetara.

"I gotta say, coming here has it's ups and downs but you can't ask for a better adventure." Said Carter.

Adam nodded once at them and they turned to face the lizards.

As one of the lizards' robots fired up its huge gun, a shot came at it from nowhere, causing it to explode.

In the distance, a loud engine could be heard as another shot was fired, causing a second robot to explode, a third was fired, and a third one exploded.

The lizards began to run away in fear.

"Hold your position!" Yelled Slithe to his army.

"I said hold your positions! You miserable cowards!" Yelled Slithe to his soldiers.

The machine that was taking them all down came closer and closer to them.

"What is that thing?" Asked Carter as it came closer.

It easily avoided one of the shots coming from the last robot standing.

It fired back, and it exploded like the others.

The lizards were terrified by this new enemy and ran away from it in fear including Slithe.

"Hope that thing's on our side." Said Kit as the machine came to a stop in front of them.

The top of it opened, and a huge, muscled form of a cat stepped out.

One of the braver lizards who had stayed behind ran towards him, and he easily knocked it away with a pair of nun-chucks.

They all looked up at this newcomer in amazement.

"Who are you?" Asked Adam.

"Name's Panthro." Said Panthro as he introduced himself.


	10. Old Friends

The next day after the battle with the lizard, everyone watched as Panthro, a huge, muscled ThunderCat who had plenty of scars from days from the warworking on his ThunderTank, which seemed to be malfunctioning.

His fur was a light shade of blue and his eyes were both red but one was cloudy with blindness from a scar that went over his eye.

"I didn't think he'd be so big." Said Adam said when he saw him.

"I thought he'd be, y'know, smaller." Said Tygra

Panthro yanked open the covering for the tank's engine with ease, making Kat and Kit gape at him.

"I thought he'd be less spiky." Said Cheetara, talking about the red vest he wore with grey spikes coming out of it and he also wore a pair of matching red, spiky gloves. .

"And i'm hoping he's real." Said Carter.

Everyone looked at him.

"Don't give me that look you all thinking the same thing, the Panthro from Thundera we thought was real until he killed Claudus." Said Carter.

"For all we know he could be another trick by Mumm-Ra." Said Carter.

Cheetara shook her head.

"I doubt Mumm-Ra would try the same trick twice as he knows we'd be on to him." Said Cheetara.

Tygra saw the slightly awed expression on Adam's face and smirked.

He nudged him with his elbow.

"Go on, Lord of Third Earth, see if your loyal subject needs help fixing his tank, that is, unless you're scared." Said Tygra as he challenged Adam.

"Tygra!" Yelled Carter.

Adam stepped closer to the tank where Panthro was working, his back facing Adam.

"Hey, Panthro." Said Adam as he greeted, trying to sound friendly.

"Go away." Said Panthro.

Can't you see I'm busy?" Asked Panthro.

Adam's smile fell into a frown.

"Oh, come on, you're really just going to ignore us forever, what are you so grumpy about anyway?" Asked Adam as to why Panthro was giving him a hard time.

"You're standing on my samouflange." Replied Panthro.

Adam jumped looking down at where his feet were and lifting them up.

"Uh… sorry." Said Adam even though he wasn't sure where the samouflange was or even what it was.

He cleared his throat.

"Look, maybe I can help, i've dabbled in a little tech myself, and so has Carter." Said Adam as he pointed to Carter.

Carter waved a bit but Panthro didn't even bother noticing.

Instead, he stood up and looked down at Adam.

"The ThunderTank is out of Thundrelium." Said Panthro.

"Now I've got to risk my hide to get more at the Cloud Peak mine!" Yelled Panthro as he pointed to a far-off mountain in the distance.

It was incredibly tall, but instead of there being a top to the mountain, it looked as though it had been cut off leaving a flat surface on the top.

"If you're going after Thundrelium, we're coming with you." Said Adam.

Panthro sighed before he looked at him out of the corner of his good eye.

"Let me put this as respectfully as I can, no." Said Panthro.

"I am the king now, general." Said Adam as he was putting emphasis on Panthro's status.

Panthro jumped down from the tank, towering over Adam.

"Fine but if you slow me down or get in my way, and you're on your own." Said Panthro as he turned to the others.

"Any questions?"

"What's a samouflange?" Asked Tygra.

Adam had WilyKat, WilyKit, and Snarf wait at the tank for them to get back, promising that they'd be back before dark.

"If we don't all die first." Mumbled Panthro under his breath.

As they walked through the woods to the mountain, Adam started making a conversation by telling Panthro what had happened from Thundera's fall to now.

"You sure have a motley crew on your hands, kid, it's a miracle you survived this long without any adult supervision." Said Panthro.

"Well, we've been doing just fine under my command." Said Adam as he was a little peeved that Panthro doubted his leadership because of his age.

"If you want to stay alive, you're gonna have to listen to me." Said Panthro said.

"Adam is the king, Panthro, and he's a pretty good leader." Said Carter as he defendted his friend.

Panthro laughed.

"Don't make me laugh, only a cat can be king and don't try to feed me on a good leader, Claudus, now he was a leader." Said Panthro.

Adam and Carter glared at him for that.

"The king fought to his last breath trying to save Thundera but in the end, Grune's betrayal was too much to overcome." Said Cheetara with a sad tone of that day.

Panthro growled when he heard Grune's name.

"Grune, we've been inseparable ever since that first day we met on the battlefield." Said Panthro.

Soon enough they made it to an entrance just at sunset.

Panthro used a special scope to check out the entrance of the mine, seeing two armed lizards guarding it.

Beside him was Adam and Carter and behind them was Tygra and Cheetara.

"That's the access tunnel we need to get to." Said Panthro.

He put down the scope and turned to the others.

"Doesn't look too heavily guarded." Said Panthro.

"I say we take them now." Said Tygra with arrogance in his voice.

"We can't Tygra, just because we don't see any other lizards, doesn't mean their not their, for all we know they could be hiding, we'll wait for darkness." Said Adam.

Panthro was shocked, he didn't expect the kid to have a good plan.

He and the others started to crawl away into a hiding place to wait.

Tygra scowled, staying at the place where he could see the access tunnel.

"Your not even a real king" Said Tygra to himself.

He used his whip to turn invisible and took out the two guards and turned visible.

"I guess Adam underestimated me." Said Tygra.

Suddenly Tygra was surrounded by a large group of lizards.

"Drop your weapons!" Yelled Tygra but they didn't budge.

"Kill him!" Yelled the lizard in charge.

Before they even pulled the triggers on their guns, Panthro had pulled out his nun-chucks, and had easily begun taking out two lizards every second.

After a moment, all the lizards were down on the ground, unconscious.

Tygra looked up at Panthro in awe of his battle skills as he put his weapon away.

"What is wrong with you?!" Asked/Yelled Panthro.

"Me, I gave an order! You ignored it!" Yelled Tygra.

The two cats glared at each other.

Fearing things might get worse, Cheetara, Adam, and Carter went over to Tygra's side.

"Tygra, you may have been a prince once but Adam is the king now." Said Cheetara.

"So that means I've got to listen to any idiotic order he gives me?" Asked Tygra in anger as he was glaring at Adam.

"At least his order was good." Said Panthro as he for once stood up for the kid.

"I guess all the stories of your undying loyalty were exaggerated." Said Tygra, glaring back at him as he was once a general of his father.

"My loyalty is gained when it is earned!" Yelled Panthro.

He started walking into the tunnel, he looked over his shoulder at everyone but Tygra.

"Come on, let's find the Thundrelium and get out of here." Said Panthro.

Everyone did as he ordered and followed him inside except Tygra before he eventually followed them in.

As they snuck through the tunnel, they passed a large amount of mining equipment that wasn't being used.

They went through a tunnel and stopped at the entrance of it and looked down at the mining that was being done by the lizards.

Carts of magenta minerals which looked like quartz were being sent through a system they had set up.

"Is that Thundrelium?" Asked Adam as he never seen it before.

"Yeah, enough to power a thousand ThunderTanks for a thousand years." Said Panthro.

A form walked past the tunnel they were hiding in, and everyone saw Grune.

Panthro glared at him.

"Grune." Growled Panthro in anger.

They watched as Grune went toward a full cart of the magenta-coloured power source and picked up a small one inspecting it with a smile.

Panthro moved away from the entrance and looked back at everyone else.

"We move on my lead, got it?" Asked Panthro, partially to Tygra as he begins to walk away.

Tygra glared at him but did as he was told.

They hid out in a tunnel that the lizards were using to get the Thundrelium in and out of the mines.

One lizard came in, riding on a motorized cart out of the tunnel.

When he was deep enough in the tunnel that the darkness concealed him from the other lizards.

Cheetara jumped up and threw him down.

The lizards outside the tunnel heard the other lizard's cry of pain and they hissed angrily and pointed their weapons at the tunnel's entrance as they went inside.

Tygra had made himself invisible with his whip and made himself visible again and knocked the two of them out, throwing one against the wall, and throwing the other one out of the tunnel.

More lizards had begun to gather at the entrance, and two more went in.

Carter used his earth powers to knock them back against the ground.

Two more came in and Adam raised up his sword, cutting through their gun, making it explode.

The sound of the explosion caught the attention of everyone outside the tunnel, including Grune, and they made their appearances known.

"ThunderCats!" Yelled Grune as he was surprised that he was seeing them.

"Oh, you fools, you brought the sword and the War Stone right to me, and now you'll never make it out of here alive." Said Grune with confidence.

"They will." Said Panthro from behind him.

Grune turned around looking at him in shock as Panthro glared at him.

"I just can't say the same for you." Said Panthro with a promising tone.

"You've always been hard to kill, Panthro." Said Grune as he got control of himself.

"I can be stubborn when it comes to dying." Said Panthro.

"This isn't going to go well, is it?" Asked Cheetara.

"Nope." Replied Tygra.

"Now, let's see, when was the last time I saw you?" Asked Panthro sarcastically.

"Oh, yes, you released Mumm-Ra from his imprisonment and when I tried to stop you, you fought me until I couldn't and left me to die!" Yelled Panthro in anger.

"We sure have some great memories together, you betrayed me, Grune, you betrayed your brothers, all those deaths, and you're still not the king!" Yelled Panthro.

"Don't lecture me, Panthro, if it's revenge you seek, then come take it." Said Grune as he challenged Panthro.

"With pleasure!" Yelled Panthro as he pulled out his nun-chucks.

He stopped when the ground began to shake.

"What is that?" Asked Cheetara.

"The only thing you can trust!" Replied/Yelled Grune as something shot out of the ground, of what appears to be a giant robotic drill.

"A machine!" Yelled Grune.

He looked up at the robot.

"Destroy them, Driller!" Yelled Grune.

Driller went after the others as Grune began to run.

"Until next time, Panthro!" Yelled Grune.

"Grune!" Yelled Panthro as he ran after him.

But Driller blocked his path, and when Panthro tried to knock him out of the way with his nun-chucks.

Driller easily knocked them away and threw Panthro back before he started drilling multiple holes all through the mine around them.

Adam quickly, pulled out his sword.

The Eye of Thundera quickly began to glow and he stepped in front of it.

Soon The Eye of Thundera and when Adam's hand was raised up he shot out large red bolt of lightning and Panthro looked at Adam with wide eyes as he wielded the sword's power.

The Driller paid no attention to it as he turned his arms into a giant buzz saw and came at Adam.

He easily blocked the strike and knocked Driller away.

Driller quickly recovered from it, he ran back at Adam and was using his drilling head as a weapon this time but Adam blocked it with the crystal in the sword.

No matter how hard Driller tried to break through it he just couldn't.

"Now that's what I call impressive!" Yelled Panthro as he was watching the battle.

Adam pushed Driller back, and cut off the top of the drill on his head.

Driller fell to the ground, the cut Adam had made causing him to malfunction and shut down.

Suddenly, the mine began to rumble again, but this was much worse, because the mine was beginning to collapse on itself.

"The Driller weakened the mine!" Yelled Tygra.

Everyone began to run away, looking for a way out.

They started running through the tunnel that they came in through, but Carter stopped and took a glance back at the mine.

"We have to go now!" Yelled Adam as he noticed he had stopped.

Carter used his Earth element powers to bring one cart filled Thundrelium.

"Not without this." Said Carter.

He ran back to the others with the cart and they ran out of the tunnel.

Just as the mine began destroy the inside of the mountain.

They dove out of the tunnel's entrance as the mine collapeced.

When it stopped, they looked back, seeing the remnant dust from the destroyed rocks inside coming up from around the mountain's peak.

"Well, that will slow down Mumm-Ra's army for a while." Said Adam as he looked at the access tunnel as it was now blocked by the mine's rocks.

"I guess Claudu's sword wound up in the right hands after all." Said Panthro.

Adam looked back at him in surprise.

"I served him proudly, and you can expect the same." Said Panthro with a small bow.

Adam turned to him with a grin.

"So, you think when we get the ThunderTank fixed, I could drive it?" Asked Adam.

Panthro frowned.

"Not a chance!" Yelled Panthro.

"My king." Said Panthro with a smirk on his face.


	11. Journey to the Tower of Omens

They managed to reach their destination of Jaga's clue to the Book of Omens but needless to say, everyone was disappointed when they arrived at their destination and there was no Tower or Book of Omens anywhere.

Cheetara they explained that the clerics from a long time ago had hidden the book in a tower, but no matter how hard everyone looked, there was no tower of any kind that they could see.

Carter then remembered something.

"Here Adam." Said Carter as he handed Adam a piece of paper.

"What's this for?" Asked Adam in confusion.

"Before we escaped Thundera Jaga gave me this and told me to give it to you when we reach the destination of his clue." Replied Carter.

Adam looked at the piece of paper and it seems to be a sort of spell of sorts.

"Jaga told me that the War Stone has the power of Sight Beyond Sight or wheatever it is called, he said it should reveal to you to the Tower." Said Carter.

Carter watched as Adam was trying to use the War Stone to give him Sight Beyond Sight so he could know where the book was.

He sat on the tank next to Panthro, who was next to Tygra, who was next to Cheetara.

"Ancient Power of the War Stone, give me Sight Beyond Sight." Said Adam as he held his hand to where the War Stone was located and it glowd.

After a moment, he sighed.

"Okay, let's try that again." Said Adam.

He raised his hand to the War Stone.

"Ancient Power of the War Stone, give me Sight Beyond Sight." Said Adam.

Nothing happened again and he growled in anger.

"Come on… work!" Yelled Adam,

Panthro turned to the other three.

"Are you telling me our only chance of finding the Book of Omens is if the stone in his chest tells him?" Asked Panthro in disbelief.

"It's about as hopeless as it sounds." Said Tygra.

"Adam will get us there, he just needs to believe in himself." Said Cheetara.

"And it wouldn't kill you to do the same or is that to much for the Prince of Thundera." Said Carter as glared at Tygra who turned away from him.

Carter looked back at Adam, who was trying again.

When, again, it didn't work, he growled in frustration.

What no one noticed was Mumm-Ra was watching him trying to use the stone.

"You may have the first stone but I will have it again, I have taken it from firmer hands then yours." Said Mumm-Ra as he begins to think back to how he had to invade a planet to look for that stone and how it was stolen from him.

"It will be mine, again." Said Mumm-Ra as he clenched his fist.

He soon walked over to his coffin where it opened on it's own and bandages took Mumm-Ra and pulled him inside.

Soon the coffin went down and it transformed into a vehicle as it begins to speed off.

"This is dumb, I don't even know what I'm looking for!" Yelled Adam.

Cheetara jumped down from the tank and started walking over to Adam.

"Sometimes, when you look too hard, you miss what's right in front of you." Said Cheetara.

Adam looked back at her.

She came up behind him, putting one of her hands on his shoulder and leaning on him.

"When you master sight beyond sight, it'll show you what your eyes can't see." Said Cheetara.

"But you need to have an open mind, so, try again, but this time, just relax." Said Cheetara.

She was right next to him, and Adam could feel the warmth of her fur against his skin, and she was speaking into his ear, loud enough to be heard, but soft enough not to hurt his hearing.

His ear twitched with each soft breath that came from her lips and landed on it.

"Relax, Got it." Said Adam as he closed his eyes.

Cheetara pulled away to give him some space.

He jumped when Kat's face suddenly appeared in front of him from above.

"Wat'cha doing?" Asked Kat with a grin.

"Ooh, I know what they were doing!" Yelled Kit in a sing-song voice, making little kissing sounds.

"No!" Yelled Adam.

"We were just trying to get the stone to work." Said Adam.

Kat jumped down from the branches beside his sister.

"Why is this book so hard to find, anyway?" Asked Kit.

"Did they forget where they put it?" Asked Kat.

"In a way, yes." Replied Cheetara.

"You see, the Book of Omens wasn't lost, rather, it was hidden, with the intention that it would never be found, legend says the Book of Omens held both clues to our past, and keys to our future, because some believed it could be even more valuable than the Sword of Omens, the other animals would stop at nothing to get it, the king knew it contained too much power to allow it to fall into the wrong hands, so he had the clerics hide it far beyond the kingdom walls, far beyond anywhere the Cats had ever been, to keep it safe, they built a temple, one made with magic, the Tower of Omens was inaccessible to anyone but themselves, and protected by ancient enchantments, they then sealed themselves into the temple, forever. Its location would be a secret they took to their graves." Said Cheetara as she explained through a story.

"That's why Grune and I knew we'd probably never find it." Said Panthro as he was coming up behind Cheetara with Tygra beside him.

"So we just have to just get lucky and hope we stumble onto it?" Asked Tygra.

"Do you know a better way to find it?" Asked Carter as Tygra glared at him.

They heard grunting noise and looked up to see Snarf trying to pull down a fruit from one of the trees above.

When he finally got it off the branch, almost all of the fruits on the branch fell off and scattered around the feet of everyone below him.

They all looked up when they saw a stone lion's head on the stone wall that they thought had been a cliff.

"Maybe we just did." Said Adam.

He walked over to the stone wall and pulled away some old vines to reveal an entrance.

"How did we miss that?" Asked Cheetara when she saw it.

"I guess, sometimes, when you look too hard, you miss what's right in front of you." Said Adam as he repeated her own lesson.

Adam looked up to the tree branches.

"Nice work, Snarf." Said Adam.

Snarf mewed happily at the compliment and hopped down from the branch onto Kit's shoulders as she began to follow Adam and the others inside.

They walked through the temple entrance into a dimly lit hallway, lucklily Carter's fire powers made it easier to see.

It was a single pathway resting over a gigantic bed of huge needles.

At the other end of the pathway was a door that looked like the entrance to a lion's mouth.

Adam looked down at the spikes surrounding them suspiciously.

When they reached the end, they found that the doors were closed.

Adam pushed at them to try and get them open but they wouldn't budge.

He looked down at a little slit in the door and saw it was a keyhole, he looked back at the others with a wry grin.

"Think they left a key behind?" Asked Adam.

Tygra put his claw on his shoulder and pointed to the ceiling.

"Actually, they left a few." Replied Tygra.

Everyone looked up to see a huge group of keys dangling on strings from above.

"How do we know which key is the right one?" Asked Carter as he looked at the great number of them.

"We'll just have to try them all." Said Cheetara.

She pulled out her staff and extended it so it would reach up to the ceiling and knock down a few keys.

Three keys landed in her hand and she turned to the door.

"This could take forever." Said Panthro as he shook his head.

Cheetara put the key into the hole and turned it but the second she did, the sound of grinding gears could be heard and everyone looked around to see what it was.

"I don't think we have forever." Said Tygra.

Everyone saw that the path they had taken was quickly becoming smaller and smaller.

Snarf and the two kittens, who had been a little ways behind to look at the spikes below, screamed and ran to the others.

When the path finally came to them, they all jumped up, and grabbed onto the first thing they could.

Panthro grabbed onto the tiny ledge just below the door.

Kat grabbed onto his shoulder.

Adam grabbed onto Panthro's foot.

Cheetara had grabbed onto his other one.

Carter had grabbed onto Adam's waist.

Tygra had grabbed onto Carter's foot, holding Snarf in his arms.

Kit had grabbed onto Tygra's foot.

The group dangled dangerously over the spikes, which were so closely clustered together.

"Find the key!" Yelled Panthro, using all of his strength to try and hang onto the ledge.

Kat and Kit climbed up the chain of people like experts and were pulling out some metal tools.

"Leave this to the masters." Said Kat said as he climbed up Panthro's shoulders, his sister not too far behind him.

"Hurry, There's hundreds to pick from!" Yelled Adam.

Kit climbed up onto Panthro's shoulders, using his face as a step of sorts while Kat climbed up her shoulders so he could be level with the keyhole.

"Why waste time picking out a key." Said Kit.

"When you could just pick the lock?" Asked Kat.

After a moment of tinkering, the door unlocked and they jumped in.

Tygra, still holding Snarf, was the first to climb up the chain of people into the doorway, then Cheetara, then Carter, and then Adam.

Tygra and Adam pulled Panthro up into the door and he sighed in relief, his muscles straining from having to hold onto something while having so much weight attached to him. The doors closed behind them, and they all stood up, looking at the long stretch of a hallway before them.

"The Book could be just beyond that wall." Said Adam.

"Well, then let's go get it." Said Panthro with a confident smirk.

"Wait, we don't know what other traps could be." Said Carter as he stopped him by holding his arm out in front of the large cat.

Panthro ignored him went head on but the second his foot hit the floor, huge, whirring blades came out and began spinning rapidly, like saws, ready to cut anything, came right to his face.

Adam was able to pull him back.

"Legend said the ancients rigged a series of obstacles near the temple meant to keep outsiders away." Said Cheetara as she was looking at all the spinning blades.

"Then this whole place is one big death-trap." Said Panthro in realization.

Cheetara watched the blades movement, judging their speed.

She smirked.

"Gotta move fast!" Yelled Cheetara.

She jumped in, easily avoiding each blade with her incredible speed.

She never once stopped, but kept moving.

The closest she came to being cut was when one of the blades cut off a few strands of her long hair.

When she reached the end, she grinned proudly to herself, and then pulled out her staff, having it extend long enough to push two switches on either side of the wall simultaneously and one by one, the blades stopped spinning and retracted into the walls again.

Once it was safe, everyone ran to the other side of the hall.

"Nice work." Said Adam.

She smiled at him and, once everyone was inside but her, she retracted her staff and dashed inside, the door shutting behind her.

Meanwhile in a forest the Lizard Army were trying to find the Tower of Omens with Black Lantern with Jaga still inside it.

So they have had no luck.

Slithe, who was holding the lantern began to hiss.

"You've been leading us in circles." Said Slithe in frustration as he glared at Jaga.

"Nonsense, Mumm-Ra's spell is too powerful for a wizard like me, I can't help but light the way." Said Jaga as he laughed at his own Jaga.

Slithe hissed again and held up the lantern and was ready to break it when he heard something.

He looked behind him and saw Mumm-Ra's vehical coming his way.

The door opened and Mumm-Ra stepped out.

"Careful General." Said Mumm-Ra as he walked over to Sltihe, who bowed while still holding the lantern.

"That lantern is as fragile as it's withered and duplicitous navigator." Said Mumm-Ra.

Slithe looked up at Mumm-Ra.

"He doesn't know the way to the temple, master." Said Slithe.

"He's toying with us." Said Slithe.

But Mumm-Ra did not believe it.

"No, his mouth lies but his soul reveal the truth, the Book's location has been passed down through the Head Clerics for centuries, he knows." Said Mumm-Ra.

Slithe put down the lantern and glares at Jaga who looked away.

"He simply requires more, motivation." Said Mumm-Ra as he held up his hand and blasted the lantern with his magic.

"Force me all you want, but Adam will have that Book long before you reach the temple." Said Jaga.

Mumm-Ra stopped using his magic and the lantern began to move on it's own and made another light like it did before as Mumm-Ra held onto it.

He glared at Slithe.

"You and your army will remain here, your ineptitude has cost me enough already." Said Mumm-Ra in anger as he went into forest alone.

The next room they walked into was a room with multiple ledges on high walls that surrounded them.

On one side of the wall was a small window, which had a small line of light coming through, looking down at a pool of water.

The light bounced off the reflection of the still water and onto the eyes of a stone lion head on the opposite wall.

Inside the pool were piles and piles of sparkling gold coins.

"Look, treasure!" Yelled Kit happily as she and her brother dashed towards the pool.

"We're rich!" Yelled Kat.

He reached his hand inside the pool for its treasure.

"Wait!" Yelled Adam but it was too late, though.

Kat's hand reaching into the water disturbed its stillness causing ripples along the surface.

The ripples affected the reflection of light that came from the tiny window, causing the light to shake and move away from the lion's head.

Once it was, the lion's eyes began to glow red and water began to gush out of its open mouth, as well as pour out from the walls.

Everyone immediately went up onto the ledges along the walls for safety away from the water.

Panthro was the quickest of the group, and Carter jumped up on the same ledge he was on, and was surprised him in something like a fetal position, his knees pulled up to his chest as his back was against the wall.

He kept shaking his head back and forth.

"You okay there, Panthro?" Asked Carter.

"I never told you guys this." Said Panthro as he stood up, looking at the water fearfully.

"But I can't swim." Said Panthro.

Tygra pointed up to a grated part of the ceiling, where a different room could be seen on the other side.

"Looks like there's an exit up there." Said Tygra.

"We'll wait for the water to rise, then float up to it." Said Tygra.

"Easier said than done!" Yelled Panthro as he was struggling to swimming.

Cheetara reached up to the entrance with her staff, pushing against it, but it wouldn't budge.

"I can't open it from this side!" Yelled Cheetara as she kept pushing against it.

"I'm not gonna last!" Yelled Panthro as he began to sink into the water.

Adam dove after them in the water, but wasn't quick enough to get him, and he didn't get far enough before he had to go up for air himself.

"Panthro's gone!" Yelled Adam to the others once he reached the surface.

Panthro went to the bottom.

He looked around to see they were in the pile of treasure the Kittens had seen when they had come in.

He looked around, and saw an opening in the wall, that looked vaguely like a plug.

He smirked and reached for it, opening it up and was suddenly sucked through it from the water rushing through the hole.

He went through a tunnel, and when he finally came to an end, Panthro pushed it open, and gasped for air when he was in an empty room.

He was gasping for breath when he heard the sounds of Adan and the others, and looked to see their fingers poking through the grated opening on the floor of the room.

"Hang on!" Yelled Panthro as he rushed to where they were, he reached down and pulled the grate up.

Everyone smiled at the sight of him.

"Panthro, you're alive!" Yelled Kat.

"We thought you were gone." Said Adam said as he pulled him out.

"I guess not being able to swim has its advantages." Said Panthro with confidence.

Adam looked around them, and smiled when he saw a doorway.

"Who wants to bet that leads to the temple?" Asked Adam, pointing to it.

They all ran through the door, ready to see the temple on the other side.

But when they reached it, there was no temple.

They were simply standing on a cliff that overlooked a small piece of the jungle below and a waterfall straight across from them.

Adam glared at it angrily.

"There's nothing here!" Yelled Adam in anger.

"All those traps just to protect more jungle?" Asked Adam as he clenched his fists angrily.

"Maybe no one can find this temple because it doesn't exist!" Yelled Adam.

Cheetara reached over and put her hand over his fist.

"Or maybe, it takes more than just getting past a bunch of traps to find it, believe in yourself." Said Cheetara as her grip tightened slightly around his hand.

"I know I do." Said Cheetara.

Adam's expression softened as he looked at her.

She released his hand from hers.

He reached for the War Stone and held onto it.

"Ancient Power of the War Stone, give me Sight Beyond Sight." Said Adam.

The War Stone glowed as well as his eyes and this time, the stone did as he asked, and showed him that just below there was a button on the cliff below them.

His eyes widened, and the stone stopped glowing.

"There's a switch." Said Adam as he kneeled down and saw that the stone had told him the truth and he could see it from where he was.

He lay down trying to reach down to press it but it was too far away.

"I can't reach it!" Yelled Adam.

Tygra pulled out his whip.

"Allow me." Said Tygra.

He snapped the whip, and the ends of it smacked against the switch.

After a second the switch sung into the wall of the cliff and as it did a stone panther head appeared on the other side.

Soon two others followed out of the waterfall.

A stone archway moved the water out of view of a huge tower that was hidden by the waterfall.

A moment later three flat stones seemed to elevate from the ground, giving them a path to walk across to the tower.

They all did so immediately heading straight for the tower, which was slightly moss encrusted from years of hiding behind water.

"The Tower of Omens." Said Adam, looking at it as they came closer.

"I can't believe I finally found it!" Yelled Panthro as he was looking up at it.

"Guess all it took was the right partners." Said Panthro as he looked at the others when he said this.

They walked into the temple, finding many wooden spiral stairs that led up the tower.

"The Book must be up there." Said Tygra, looking at them.

Cheetara looked over at her friend with a smile.

"You did it, Adam!" Yelled Cheetara.

"Indeed, he did." Said a raspy, cold voice from behind them.

"And it will be the last thing he ever does!" Yelled the voice.

Everyone looked to see Mumm-Ra had followed them inside holding the Black Lantern with Jaga's face still showing inside it.

"I led him right to you, i'm sorry." Said Jaga,

"Jaga!" Yelled Cheetara, seeing her mentor's face.

"You're alive!" Yelled Cheetara in surprise.

Mumm-Ra chuckled darkly.

"Hardly, he's nothing but a vapor in a jar." Said Mumm-Ra.

"And I have little use for him now." Said Mumm-Ra as he raised the lantern up high and threw it down.

"No!" Yelled Adam.

Cheetara used her speed and she glided across the floor to Jaga grabbing the lantern before it hit the ground.

Mumm-Ra growled angrily and he raised up his hand, and a purple beam shot out of it.

Cheetara screamed as it threw her back, and she slammed against the wall of the stairs that led up to the Book.

Adam turned to where she landed, ready to go and help her.

"Cheetara!" Yelled Adam but he was stopped by someone's hand on his shoulder and he saw Tygra looking at him.

"We have to get to the Book." Said Tygra.

Adam nodded and began running for the stairs.

"Go!" Yelled Panthro as they ran.

"Mumm-Ra's mine." Said Panthro as he pulled out his nun-chucks and glared at the demon, he swung at him, and Mumm-Ra narrowly avoided each strike.

He kicked him back, but he quickly recovered and tried to use his magic on Panthro.

Panthro brushed off the magic like it was nothing and kicked Mumm-Ra back again.

"This sack of bones is no match for Panthro." Said Panthro, hoping more of a fight from him.

"Don't be deceived by appearances, my true form is far more powerful." Said Mumm-Ra.

He raised his hands and began to speak what sounded like an incantation.

"Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form into Mumm-Ra, The ever-living!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as a cloud of smoke went around him, and suddenly Mumm-Ra wasn't Mumm-Ra they knew.

He was a huge, muscled demon dressed in Armor, and had two huge, leathery wings.

He raised his hands, and purple beams of light appeared around him and Panthro stood perfectly still and none of them hit him.

Mumm-Ra opened his mouth and a purple blast shot out of it knocking Panthro back.

Kat and Kit ran in front of him, ready to protect their friend.

Mumm-Ra flapped his wings, sending him up into the air, and blowing them back at the same time.

He flew up the staircase, blasting off more his magic at Tygra who barely avoided one as it hit one of the stairs.

He jumped onto a stone ledge near the stairs, getting away from the demon as he kept flying.

Mumm-Ra fired off another blast at Carter, who was just ahead of him, and he jumped off to join him on the ledge.

Mumm-Ra flew up higher and higher, to where Adam was running up the stairs as quickly as he could.

Mumm-Ra was about to fire off at him but was stopped when a sudden weight latched onto his foot.

He looked down and saw nothing but he could feel that someone had grabbed onto him.

A blast from a gun came at him and he easily deflected it.

He spat out another blast at the force on his foot and Tygra became visible when he felt the pain of it.

Mumm-Ra shook the tiger off of his foot.

As he fell, Tygra used his whip to grab onto Mumm-Ra's foot again.

"You won't shake me that easily." Said Tygra.

"Or me!" Yelled Carter, jumping up and grabbing onto Mumm-Ra's other foot.

The demon growled in frustration and annoyance and opened his mouth again, shooting off a huge blast at the both of them, making them release him and fall.

Panthro, who was climbing up the tower with Kat, Kit, and Snarf on his back, reached out and grabbed Tygra by his ankle before he could keep falling to his death, and Carter grabbed onto Tygra's hand before he fell with him.

Adam looked down from where he was on the stairs in relief at the sight of his friends who were safe from Mumm-Ra.

He glared down at the demon as he flew up higher towards him and he quickly dashed up the stairs to the top of the tower.

When he reached it he began to look around for any sign of the Book, and when it wasn't on the floor he was standing on he looked up and saw the book was suspended in a stone cage at the very top of the tower.

He smiled and walked underneath it but stopped when he heard Mumm-Ra's roar and saw the winged monster come up.

"The Book of Omens and its power belong to me!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

Adam pulled out his sword, letting out a battle cry.

"ThunderCats, Ho!" Yelled Adam.

His voice carried throughout the tower, down to where Cheetara was just recovering from Mumm-Ra's attack.

She looked up at the top of the tower and, though she didn't know it, her eyes flashed white for a moment.

She began to run with incredible speed as she ran around the tower in circles, still holding the lantern that Jaga was captive inside.

She ran by Panthro, Cheetara, Tygra, and the others, and didn't bother to see Tygra gaping at her sudden power.

Panthro smirked at him when he saw his face.

"Close that mouth." Said Panthro.

"You're drooling." Said Panthro as he teased.

Tygra quickly shut his mouth and continued climbing up the tower.

When she reached the top, Cheetara saw that Mumm-Ra and Adam were battling it out, and she came down, kicking the demon in his face before landing skillfully on the ground.

Mumm-Ra glared at her and roared as he threw her back making her drop the lantern Jaga was trapped in and he blasted her towards the end of the tower's floor.

She grabbed the edge of it, and dangled from it, too panicked to try and figure a way up.

"I've got you!" Yelled Adam as he was running towards her.

Mumm-Ra blasted at Adam, and he cried out in pain.

Once the stream of energy had ended, Adam collapsed from a sudden exhaustion.

"You are somehow weaker then you were in our last battle." Said Mumm-Ra.

Adam pushed himself back up and glared at the demon.

Last Battle? Thought Adam in confusion as this was the first time he actually fought the demon, unless you count the first time they met in Thundera.

Not wanting to waste his chance, Mumm-Ra raised his hands and zapped Adam with his magic.

Adam cried out in enormous pain.

Jaga watched this from his lantern with wide eyes.

"The boy is not ready yet." Said Jaga.

"He cannot win this alone." Said Jaga and then the lantern suddenly shone brightly, as bright as the sun, and Mumm-Ra cried out in pain, shielding his eyes from it.

"The light!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as he screamed in pain.

He transformed into a crow and flew away from the tower.

"The book will be mine!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

Soon, the light disappeared, and Adam looked around, panting from the blast.

He heard light grunting, and looked to see Cheetara was still trying to get up to Lion-O, he ran over and helped her up just as Tygra and the others came up the stairs.

Adam and Cheetara looked over at Jaga's lantern and saw it was destroyed.

"Jaga!" Yelled Adam sadly.

Cheetara went over to the lantern where he was trapped and cradled it.

"He sacrificed himself for you." Said Cheetara sadly, hugging it like she was it would be taken.

"For all of us." Said Cheetara.

Everyone hung their heads sadly.

No one saw a small luminous orb come out from the lantern, and didn't notice it until Tygra spoke.

"Look." Said Tygra and everyone did look, they saw the little orb travel from him, to Panthro, to Cheetara, to Kit, to Kat, to Carter, and finally, to Adam.

It was as if it was Jaga, saying goodbye to them.

The little orb travelled up to the ceiling and to where the Book of Omens was kept.

The Book glowed when it came in contact with the orb, and the cage it was suspended in lowered to the floor.

Everyone glanced at Adam with small smiles.

Adam walked over to the Book and pulled it from its suspension.

He looked at the cover, which bore a red stone similar to the War Stone, but not the same one, and turned to the others with a smile.

"At long last." Said Adam as he opened the Book.

"We have all the answers." Said Adam as his eyes scanned over the first page then quickly went to the second then the third.

"Well?" Asked Tygra, not liking Adam being quiet.

"What does it say?" Asked Tygra.

Adam looked up from the Book with wide eyes.

"It says, nothing." Said Adam in shock.

"It's blank." Said Adam as everyone was as shocked as he was.


	12. Legacy

Carter looked around the group and was noticing a significant person was missing from their group.

"Where's Adam?" Asked Carter.

"Up there." Replied Panthro as he pointed to the top of the tower.

Carter sighed in disbelief.

"Still?" Asked Carter, looking up at the tower.

Panthro nodded.

At the top Adam talking to Snarf.

"According to the Cats, they believed the Book of Omens was magic but given it's appearance it's might be technology." Said Adam.

Adam was looking over the book to see if there was any way to read it.

"Which means, if I want to read it, I need to power it up, but with what?" Asked Adam to himself as he turned it to its side, trying to push down a small metal piece like a button.

Snarf mewed uneasily as he kept going over the book.

"Oh, relax, Snarf." Said Adam.

"I'm not gonna break the Book of Omens." Said Adam.

He reached for the lock that kept the Book shut at the same time and wwas suddenly zapped by a powerful bolt that knocked him back, laying on the ground.

The Stone embedded in the cover of the Book of Omens glowed brightly and bluish white tentacles slowly came out, attaching themselves to different parts of Adam's body.

When they retracted, they seemed to pull out manifestations of his soul and dragged it towards the book and sucked him inside.

Snarf looked worriedly at Adam and the Book of Omens once he was gone.

Adam was sucked through and his destination was a strange place.

There was no land yet he could stand just fine.

He looked around as something travelled near him and was shocked to see that it looked like an ocean of computer data.

"You have both entered a strange realm, Adam." Said a familiar voice.

He turned to see a small blob of data was talking to him for some unknown reason.

"The Book is neither magic nor technology." Said the voice as the data took on a form he'd recognized right away.

"But, rather, a fusion of both." Said the voice.

"Jaga!" Yelled Adam when he saw the old man.

"You're alive?" Asked Adam in shock.

"The rules of life, death and reality itself are different within the Book, Adam." Said Jaga.

Adam floated through the data around them closer to Jaga.

"Can it tell me how to defeat Mumm-Ra and return home?" Asked Adam.

"The answers lie in the Book's all-seeing record of the past." Said Jaga.

"But to truly understand them, you must re-live the events that led us here, long ago." Said Jaga.

He raised his staff and brought it down causing little bolts of lightning to shoot out at something.

"Far beyond Thundera's skies, and the reach of your imagination." Said Jaga.

Waves of data suddenly turned into a tunnel that pulled Adam in.

There was a blinding light, and they couldn't see anything for a moment, and once it had disappeared.

He saw that he was traveling through space towards a diamond-shaped ship.

He went through the walls.

"You will face the same challenges that they did." Said Jaga.

"But I warn you both, if you fail, the Book will be closed to you forever." Said Jaga as his voice disappeared and left Adam alone.

He was in some kind of ventilation but it was bigger then a normal one and could freely move around it as well as stood up.

He looked at the door to see Mumm-Ra in his ever living form with three of the Power Stones that Adam has not found before him and beside him were two cats.

He looked at his chest and noticed the War Stone was gone.

One that reminded him a lot of Lion-O, and the other was a purple-furred one.

"With the acquisition of each stone, I move one step closer to ever-lasting power." Said Mumm-Ra

Tell me that I will soon be able to add one more to my collection, commander." Said Mumm-Ra as he looked down.

"I've picked up the War Stone's energy signature and I'm working to pinpoint its location." Said The commander.

He pressed a few more of the holographic buttons on the computer and on the grid before them came a picture of a square, red stone with a strange black marking in the middle which Adam regonized as the War Stone when he found it.

"I am pleased with the way you have handled their recovery, Leo." Said Mumm-Ra.

"Your skill as a tactician is a credit to your species." Said Mumm-Ra.

"Thank you, My Lord." Said Leo as he looked up at Mumm-Ra.

"Perhaps, when the universe is mine, you shall have a planet of your own to rule." Said Mumm-Ra.

"Supervised, of course, you are still just a Cat." Said Mumm-Ra.

Leo nodded and pressed a few more buttons.

"I have a lock on the coordinates." Said Leo.

"It appears to be located among the militarized population." Said the female cat

"They will not give it up willingly." Said the female cat.

"Then we will take it from them." Said Mumm-Ra as he turned to the two of them.

"But if it is casualties you are worried about, you may send in the Lizards first." Said Mumm-Ra.

"See that our invasion force is ready, I must speak with the Ancient Spirits immediately." Said Mumm-Ra.

"At once, My Lord." Said Leo as both he and the female cat bow before leaving.

Adam made sure he kept an eye on them as they walked out into the hallways.

Once they were a good distance from the door.

"An entire planet of your own." Said the female cat.

She looked up at Leo.

"Is that what your soul is worth, Leo?" Asked the female cat.

"What are you talking about?" Asked Leo in confusion.

"The destruction of one more civilization so he can have his precious stones, that aren't his to begin with!" Yelled the female cat in anger.

Leo quickly shushed her.

"I don't like it when you talk this way, Panthera." Said Leo, checking to make sure they weren't heard.

"Mumm-Ra needs these stones to bring order to the universe!" Yelled Leo.

"Then why in his pursuit of order has Mumm-Ra only brought chaos and destruction, and if he is powerful then why doesn't he just absorbed the stones?" Asked Panthera again in anger.

"This is treason!" Yelled Leo quietly, trying not to get any attention drawn to them.

"He is our master, who are we to question him?" Asked Leo.

"If we don't Leo, who will?" Asked Panthera.

Adam decided to leave them and went back to where Leo and Panthera separated from Mumm-Ra, and instead remained in the room to watch Mumm-Ra speaking with the Ancient Spirits.

"So Mumm-Ra was gathering Power Stones and the cat's helped him, but why?" Asked Adam.

He looked through the door and saw the room had darkened significantly from when the others were inside.

Mumm-Ra was kneeling before the four statues that were erected around a glowing blue well like the one from Mumm-Rana's pyramid.

"The Book of Omens has finally revealed the location of the War Stone, my masters." Said Mumm-Ra.

The eyes of the statues lit up in a red colour and their voices shot a horrible shiver down Adam's spine.

"The collection of the stones is but one of your tasks, our son." Said the Spirits.

"You must first oversee the creation of the weapon, one forged from the blood of a star, a blade to channel the stones' power." Said Spirits.

Adam couldn't help but noticed something, the spirits sound different but the same, it was as though it was really one person instead of four.

"Show me this star and I will extinguish it!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as he stood up before his masters.

"It burns at the center of a galaxy called Plun-Darr." Said The Ancient Spirits.

A picture of the galaxy coming up on a screen.

Mumm-Ra nodded, and the room became lighter again, easier to see.

Mumm-Ra left in order to prepare a trip to the galaxy of Plun-Darr.

Adam watched Mumm-Ra brought Leo and Panthera into the room as they prepared to destroy the star in the galaxy of Plun-Darr.

"You are privileged to witness the next step towards the domination of the universe." Said Mumm-Ra.

"Today from the death of a star, the ultimate weapon shall be born." Said Mumm-Ra as he showed the image of Plun-Darr in front of them.

"I feel it is my duty to advise you, My Lord," Said Panthera as she stepped forward.

"That the star of Plun-Darr supports ten planets, three of which contain intelligent life." Said Panthera as she moved her hand to the image.

"I assure you, they will not be missed by anyone of consequence." Said Mumm-Ra with an uncaring tone in his voice.

"You can't just destroy them, Billions will die!" Yelled Panthera.

Mumm-Ra lifted his hand and a blast of purple lightning shot out of his palm and threw Panthera back.

"Forgive me, My Lord, I-I spoke without thinking." Said Panthera as she struggled to get up.

"A major failing of your species." Said Mumm-Ra.

"She may have a point, perhaps there is another star in another system, sparing this galaxy could increase the reach of your empire." Said Leo as he tried to reason with him.

"It must be this galaxy!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as though he was explaining a child.

"All things have a destiny, Leo, and this star's is to perish so that I may forge the sword and bring about order to the universe, emotion is a weakness that has no place in mastering chaos." Said Mumm-Ra.

"Of course." Said Leo with hesitation.

"It's time to launch the satellite." Said Mumm-Ra.

Soon a black diamond shaped satellite shot out the side of the ship.

It flew forward for a good minute before getting sucked into what appears to be a portal.

As soon as it did it went inside the inter-dimensional entrance did it appear on the screen that showed the galaxy of Plun-Darr.

It flew onward until it reached the star.

When it made contact the star began to darken and shrink before expanding rapidly exploding in a bright display that was in a way both beautiful and mournful as they could see the remains of some of the destroyed planets.

Once the explosion had passed, and that area of space was calm, they saw the remnants of the star, which was a strange, silvery liquid substance that floated aimlessly in the spot where the star had been.

Adam couldn't believe what he had seen, he'd knew Mumm-Ra was evil but didn't think he would do something like this.

The satellite flew forward and collected the remains sealing it inside a container and then it flew back to the path from which it had come returning to the ship.

Once it was brought in Mumm-Ra commanded for the blacksmith to be brought forth.

He arrived only a few moments later holding a large hammer in the shape of a lion's head that looked like the one Bengali had.

The silvery substance was placed before him and the eyes of the Ancient Spirit statues lit up again but this time they all shot a red lightning at the blacksmith but it didn't seem to cause him any pain.

He seemed to absorb the lightning and once it was done, his eyes were blazing red as though he was possessed.

He took his hammer and pounded away again and again at the silvery substance.

After a good half-hour of non-stop pounding.

The Sword of Plun-Darr was made as well as its gauntlet.

Once it was finished, the blacksmith was dismissed.

Mumm-Ra began reciting words that appeared to be an incantation that brought the sword and gauntlet over to him and placed the three stones into the Gauntlet.

"It is done." Said Mumm-Ra, holding the sword in his hand and wearing the gauntlet.

He turned to the others.

"Never forget, Leo, true power is not given, but taken!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as he left the room.

"This can't be the way." Said Leo to himself once he was gone.

Soon Panthera left as well in tears over what happened, leaving Leo all alone.

He suddenly looked up.

"You can come out now." Said Leo.

Adam was surprised, did he know he was here all along?

He soon pushed the gate opened and went down.

"How did you know I was here?" Asked Adam as he thought he was being quiet.

"We have higher hearing then most animals." Said Leo as he pointed to his ears.

"I take it your gonna turn me over to Mumm-Ra?" Asked Adam.

Leo shook his head.

"No, I am not." Said Leo.

Adam was surprised, he was practically Mumm-Ra's second in command.

"Why?" Asked Adam in surprise.

"Because I realized that Mumm-Ra was not the leader I thought he was." Said Leo as he looked back to where the Plun-Darr Galaxey was.

"So now your choosing to overthrow him?" Asked Adam.

Leo nodded.

"Yes, I am." Said Leo.

Adam then saw he was telling to truth through his eyes.

"I'll help you, but first maybe you should talk to your friend first." Said Adam.

"How do we defeat Mumm-Ra though?" Asked Leo.

"I can absorbed the War Stone, if we can get to it before Mumm-Ra does then we may have a chance." Said Adam.

"But he has the other three stones, how do you plan to get them?" Asked Leo again.

"What if we made a sword from the same metal from Mumm-Ra's sword and use it against him, with I can take the stones from him and use their power to defeat him once and for all." Said Adam.

Leo nodded liking the idea.

"There's just one more thing though, we can't use the War Stone in Sword, we'll need to find a way to duplicate the power." Said Adam as he knew the Eye of Thundera and the War Stone must be separated.

"We have a machine for that very purpose, as for forging the sword, you'll need to talk to the blacksmith about forging us a sword first." Said Leo.

"Um, given my appearance won't I frighten him off?" Asked Adam.

Leo held up a cloak.

"This should conceal you until the battle with Mumm-Ra comes." Said Leo.

Adam took the cloak and went off to do his part while Leo did the same.

Panthera walked down the halls of the ship, as she passed by one of the doorways Leo stepped out from where he had been and stopped her with a hand on her arm.

She regarded him with a glare.

"What do you want, Commander?" Asked Panthera in anger.

"You were right, Panthera, Mumm-Ra's not the leader I thought he was." Said Leo.

"It's too late." Said Panthera.

"Now that he has the Sword of Plun-Darr, we won't be able to stop him." Said Panthera.

"Mumm-Ra plans to put the War Stone in the sword so he can direct its power." Said Leo.

"What if we got to it first?" Asked Leo.

"And then what?" Asked Panthera.

"It be can't destroyed and we have no way to harness it's energy." Said Panthera.

"Actually we can harness it's energy, with a new ally and If all goes according to plan we'll have our own sword to defeatet Mumm-Ra." Said Leo.

Panthera let a small smile come onto her face.

Later on Leo was able to trick the rat's into giving Leo what they needed.

Leo was walking down the hall carrying a small container of the pieces of left-over metal from the sword of Plun-Darr.

"What do you have there, Leo?" Asked A voice.

Leo froze turning around to see Mumm-Ra approach him coming down from above using his leathery wings.

"Just doing some housekeeping, My Lord." Said Leo, turning to him.

"Did I not ask this of the rats?" Asked Mumm-Ra.

Leo smiled nervously.

"Yes, but I could not leave such an important task in their hands." Said Leo.

Mumm-Ra frowned.

"You seem to be losing your focus." Said Mumm-Ra as he narrowed his eyes.

"I'm worried you're letting your emotions get the best of you." Said Mumm-Ra.

"Of course not, My Lord." Said Leo, bowing his head to Mumm-Ra, no longer smiling.

"Good, I would hate to have to replace you." Said Mumm-Ra.

He turned and walked away in the opposite the direction Leo was going.

Once he was gone the lion let out a sigh of relief and continued on his path.

He headed down into a smaller part of the temple going through a few pipe lines to get to a hidden area where Panthera, Adam and the dark-eyed blacksmith from before waited for him.

"What took so long?" Asked Panthera.

"Don't ask." Replied Leo replied as he put the container on the table.

He looked at Adam.

"Did you do your part?" Asked Leo.

"The blacksmith has agreed to forge us a sword." Said Adam.

"And I was able to find a device that can copy the stone's power, it won't be as powerful as the real stone but should be powerful enough for the sword." Said Adam.

Leo looked to the blacksmith and he nodded once.

"You understand the consequences, should Mumm-Ra uncover our plan." Said Leo looked to him and he nodded again.

He looked down at the container with the metals.

"This is our one chance we have to defeat him." Said Leo.

"That's not a whole lot of metal to work with." Said Adam with a grimace.

"It won't be as big as the Sword of Plun-Darr." Said Panthera, looking at it.

"As long as it's large enough to hold the power of the War Stone." Said Leo.

"How fast can you make it?" Asked Adam.

"The blacksmith should have it ready by the time the War Stone." Said Panthera.

"Let's hope it does." Said Adam.

The blacksmith nodded again and reached for the container opening it.

Later on Leo went back to the Command Center while looking at the hologram of the War Stone while Adam hid in the air ducts .

"Beautiful, isn't it, Leo?" Asked Mumm-Ra as he emerged from the shadows.

"Yes, my lord." Replied Leo.

"Once I have the War Stone in my grasp, I will amplify the power of the Sword of Plun-Darr, making it the most formidable weapon in existence!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as he held the sword to the picture of the War Stone, looking through a hole made specifically for it.

"Tell me, Commander, has the Book of Omens pinpointed the Stone's energy signal?" Asked Mumm-Ra.

Leo went over to the Book.

"Let me check, my lord." Said Leo He said, he warily pushed different buttons until a screen popped up of a different planet.

"There." Said Leo.

Mumm-Ra nodded once and turned his attention to something beyond the machine.

"Captain Tygus." Said Mumm-Ra and the face of a one-eyed tiger cat showed up on a large screen.

"Yes, Lord Mumm-Ra?" Asked Tygus.

"Prepare your pilots and the rest of the invasion force to move in once the Stone is located." Said Mumm-Ra, he turned to Leo.

"To that aim, Commander, see that the animals are deployed for the initial planetary sweeps." Said Mumm-Ra.

Leo bowed once.

"Yes, My Lord." Said Leo as he left.

Soon enough Adam followed them to where the animals were imprisoned.

Suddenly a riot began and the animals began fighting with each other as alarms starting beeping.

Leo was being held to a wall by a rather large lizard.

He managed to head butt he lizard which caused him to screamed and jumped back in shock.

Soon enough the riot ended.

Panthera came up to the guard who had bound the two.

One of them was the lizard they had fought and another was a dog that looked like a dog or a jackal?

"We'll take it from here." Said Panthera to the two guards and they nodded showing their respect to their superior officer as she took them away with Leo following them.

"Let's take the leaders to isolated holding." Said Panthera as she came up next to Leo and he looked back at her.

They walked to doors that led to a triangle-shaped cell which was this was isolated holding.

Panthera glanced around the hallway once and saw two guards walking by and she grabbed the two leaders and shoved them into the wall.

"If you so much as twitch, it'll be the last move you make!" Yelled Panthera as she threatened.

She then threw them into the cell.

She waited until the two guards were gone before she shut the doors putting them inside with the two leaders.

She went over to the two of them with a soft smile as she undid their binds.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Asked the lizard in shock of her actions.

"I think you've spent enough time in these cuffs." Said Panthera.

The lizard rubbed at his head, where a bruise was showing from Leo's headbutt earlier.

"Nearly took my head off!" Yelled the lizard as he angrily glared at Leo as he stood up.

"You cats will take any chance you get!" Yelled The Lizard.

"I'll say it was quite a convincing performance." Said Panthera turning to Leo and smiling who smiled back.

"My apologies for the unplanned riot, but it seemed we should meet, Mumm-Ra will have the stone soon." Said the Jackal.

"And when he does, there won't be a force in the galaxy strong enough to free us from his dominion." Said Panthera.

"So, the question is, are you prepared to join the rebellion?" Asked Panthera.

"Our people are willing, but some question if the jackals can really trust you cats." Said the Jackal.

"What choice do you have, to stay in your chains?" Asked Panthera as she knew they had limited options.

"Even if we could trust you, Do you really believe that this hidden ally of yours can defeat Mumm-Ra once they have the Stone?" Asked the lizard.

"Definitely." Said Adam as he jumped down to them much to their surprise.

Panthera looked at them at them.

"But he can't do this alone." Said Panthera.

"We'll need all the animals to unite in order to overwhelm Mumm-Ra's defences." Said Panthera.

"Of course, if he fails, we all die." Said the lizard.

"Yes ironic, our cat oppressors turn to the slaves for salvation, if he gets the Stone, we'll consider it." Said the jackal.

Panthera opened the door and let them leave.

Leo with Mumm-Ra as he came into the room, pressing down on a button.

"Captain Tygus, I want a progress report!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

"Yes, Lord Mumm-Ra, I have good news." Said Tygus.

Soon different surveillance videos popped up on the screen.

"After searching the planet's vast oceans and desolate plains, the Stone was located inside a well-armed city, our forces are working to retrieve it as we speak." Said Tygus.

Mumm-Ra was scanning over the videos that were displayed.

One was of a group of jackals and dogs running to the city, armed with spears.

Another was a video of shark people swimming through the water.

A third was of tanks infiltrating the city.

"Every species has its place, Leo." Said Mumm-Ra.

"Some meant for greater tasks than others but your own kind has proved most cunning and ruthless." Said Mumm-Ra.

He turned to Leo.

"You inspire fear in the other animals, they hate you as much as they do me, I suspect in a rebellion, you would be the first to die." Said Mumm-Ra.

Leo pretended not to panic, how could have he known that.

"A rebellion?" Asked Leo in pretend confusion.

"That would surely be the work of fools, My Lord." Said Leo.

Mumm-Ra nodded.

"Indeed." Said Mumm-Ra.

A beeping sound was heard and Mumm-Ra looked up to see Tygus's face appeared on the screen.

"We've procured the War Stone, My Lord." Said Tygus.

"At long last, it's mine, bring it to me!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as he ordered Leo to leave.

He bowed once.

"Yes, My Lord." Said Leo and then he turned and left the room.

They soon went to where they had set up a meeting place for the blacksmith was making the Sword of Omens.

Adam smiled at him as he presented an item covered by a drape.

Adam pulled the drapes off, revealing the Gauntlet of Omens with the miniaturized Sword of Omens inside it, minus the Eye of Thundera in its hilt.

Adam took the gauntlet and put it on and pulled out the small sword.

"The Sword of Omens." Said Adam with a smile.

"Forged from the same enchanted metal as Mumm-Ra's sword and gauntlet." Said Panthera.

"Though I'm worried it's bit small." Said Panthera as she was seeing the blade's size.

"That'll change once I add it to the Copy version of the War Stone." Said Adam.

He took out the device he had earlier.

"How does this thing work?" Asked Adam as he's never used this device before.

Panthera took it from him.

"I'll take care of that." Said Panthera.

"Let's go." Said Leo.

They waited until the Captain's ship docked itself inside and they waited until he came out before they approached him, Leo and Panthera armed and ready.

"Thanks for finding the War Stone, Captain." Said Leo much to Tygus's surprise.

"But I can take it from here." Said Leo.

Tygys gritted his teeth.

"You'll never be able to unify the animals behind you, Commander." Said Tygus in anger.

Adam reached over and took the container that held the War Stone from him and took out the War Stone out.

"A tiger underestimating me, i'm not surprised." Said Adam much to Tygus's shock.

He took the stone and used the device to make an exact copy, only less powerful.

Once that was done he both put Stones in their places.

He grinned as the stones automatically fit into the hole and was able to absorbed the real War Stone like he did.

They both glowed brightly as they fused into both metal and felsh.

When the stone was completely fitted into the sword and where it once was when Adam found it in the future, his hair even changed red again.

Panthera came over, putting her hand on Adam's shoulder.

"Now all you have to do is use the Book to shut down security, free the slaves, and beat Mumm-Ra." Said Panthera in happiness as the animals were finally getting their freedom.

"Well, when you say it like that, it sounds so easy." Said Adam with narrow tone.

Adam and Leo walked into the room where Mumm-Ra waited for them.

"You have the Stone, Commander?" Asked Mumm-Ra when he heard their footsteps.

"Yes, but you're not getting it." Said Leo.

"Your betrayal comes as a surprise, even more surprising is that you sincerely believe you'll succeed." Said Mumm-Ra as he turned around to see them.

What Mumm-Ra was surprised at was it was not Leo with the War Stone but Adam.

Adam pulled out his sword as he was ready to fight.

"You said yourself it was the most powerful weapon in existence." Said Adam, glaring at him.

"One of the most powerful weapons in existence, and I have the other three." Said Mumm-Ra as he held up the Gauntlet of Plun-Darr, showing off the three Stones embedded in the dark metal.

"Certainly you didn't forget about the three stones we already collected?" Asked Mumm-Ra tauntingly as he was showing how power flowed through the gauntlet from them.

"How exactly do you plan to steal the other three from Mumm-Ra?" Asked Leo as he realized that Adam never said what he was going to do.

"That I haven't figured out, yet." Said Adam.

"Now having brought a planet to its knees for that stone, I expect taking it from you two will be a far easier task!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as he pulled out his blade and it quickly turned into a much larger much fiercer weapon.

It was a staff of sorts, with a pair of blades on opposite sides.

He spun it in the air expertly, and then slammed it on the ground.

Surges of lightning came from it and Adam and Leo used what they could to block it but they were still pushed back.

Mumm-Ra lifted his weapon from the ground and Adam ran at him going at him straight on but was blocked before Adam was able to strike him.

Adam swung the sword again and again powerful streams of lightning flowing from it with each blow.

After a second or two, he jumped back, Adam jumped and hit Mumm-Ra's gauntlet when he put it up in defence.

The blow was so powerful, it knocked off one of the stones from Mumm-Ra's gauntlet flying through the air.

Adam ran out and caught it in his gauntleted hand.

He glared up at Mumm-Ra.

"Stripped of all your stones and you'll be nothing more than a withered sack of bones." Said Adam with a smirk on his face.

Mumm-Ra roared angrily, and flew up into the air.

"The two I still have are more than enough to defeat you!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

Adam watched in awe as the two stones glowed and Armor began to form around Mumm-Ra.

"Perhaps I underestimated you, boy, but not as drastically as you underestimated me, I can harness the powers of these stones in ways you can only dream of!" Yelled Mumm-Ra

"And just when we were starting to win." Said Adam when he saw him.

Mumm-Ra lifted his hand and a powerful blast of energy shot out and sent Adam over the edge of the small platform that was elevated above the bottom of the ship.

"No!" Yelled Leo as Adam had gone over.

"Your rebellion is over, Leo!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

Leo glared at him, gritting his teeth.

He heard a grunting sound, and saw Lion-O climbing back up.

"I'm not done yet." Said Adam as he quickly got up and ran towards Mumm-Ra.

Their blades clashed together and more lightning flew off of the blades.

Adam yelled and the Eye of Thundera began to glow.

It shot out a bright red light that blew Mumm-Ra back and down into the depths of his station where he had tried to send Adam.

Once he was gone, Leo ran to the Book of Omens punching in different keys quickly.

"What are you doing, Mumm-Ra's not that easily beaten, he'll be up here any second!" Yelled Adam as kept watched

"If I don't get these animals loose, this will all be for nothing!" Yelled/Replied Leo.

Adam watched as he kept typing in command after command on the keys and he saw the electric gates that were holding all the animals in begin to open up.

He watched as a few animals walked two steps out looking around them for guards that would throw them back in their cells but a majority of them were too scared to come out afraid of what they might face if they do.

Punching in a few more keys Leo had his face appear on a holographic communicator to all of the animals.

"I realize the cats haven't earned it, but I'm asking for your trust, trust in me and in a future where we are not enemies, but brothers, today, let's put aside our differences, because together, we can be free, unite or fall!" Yelled Leo.

Adam was little sad, as he knew in the future, when he fist arrived to Third Earth they will do the opposite.

Adam followed Leo's example and pulled out his sword, holding it up.

They heard the animals cheer loudly and saw the jackal and lizard from before as well as Panthera appear before the animals.

"Come!" Yelled The Jackal.

The animals ran out taking out any guards that appeared before them.

They watched as they charged through the halls on surveillance cameras.

Leo looked up at the Panthera when she came into view.

"So, how'd I do?" Asked Leo.

She only answered him by blowing a kiss through the communicator.

Leo smiled at that.

"You think you've freed them, but you've only doomed them to die for your rebellion!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as he returned to them

He shot out a blast of lightning at the two of them, and they both jumped back.

"They're not fighting for me, they're fighting for themselves!" Yelled Leo.

Mumm-Ra ignored his words as he shot a bolt of lightning at him but Adam was able to sent flying back.

When he had fallen to the ground, Mumm-Ra picked up Adam and threw him against a wall.

"Even if you had my power, you wouldn't know what to do with it!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

Adam glared at him, his eyes going to the two stones in his gauntlet.

His eyes widened as he remembered he still held the stone he had taken from Mumm-Ra.

He opened his gauntlet had and looked down at the green disc shaped stone that Mumm-Rana told him was the Tech Stone.

"Maybe not, but there is one major difference between us." Said Adam as he stood up.

Now this got Mumm-Ra's attention.

"Unlike you, I don't need a gauntlet to use the Stone's powers." Said Adam.

He put the stone on his flesh hand and watched as it fused into him.

Only a moment later after a green glow did his own Armor begin to form around his body resembling of a wizard robe but with metal instead of cloth and his hair was turned to green instead of red like it was before and when he looked at his chest he saw the Tech Stone just below of where the Tech Stone was with a gap between them.

"A light to end the darkness." Said Adam as he charged at him and Mumm-Ra block his blow.

Leo watched as Adam and Mumm-Ra battled it out, the strikes getting so much fiercer and stronger than usual that Adam actually sent Mumm-Ra through the wall and out of the ship into space.

He couldn't see what was happening outside.

Mumm-Ra soon came crashing back into the room through the opposite wall with Adam not far behind him.

Mumm-Ra was considerably weakened and Adam took advantage of this and began raising up his sword and bringing it down on the Gauntlet of Plun-Darr.

"The stones!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as they fell out.

As he reached for them, his Armor and his body began to dissipate into a purple smoke leaving a very familiar withered form behind.

Adam's Armor retreated from where it had come and he made his sword smaller.

"Now that's the Mumm-Ra I know and hate." Said Adam.

He reached down and picked up the other two stones, absorbing one into his flesh but hesitating before putting in the third.

He looked over at Leo, offering the last one to him.

"Want it?" Asked Adam.

Leo shook his head, as he had a feeling that the Stone's were meant for him.

Adam shrugged and absorbed the last one into his flesh.

When it was done, the Stones glowed brightly and let out a golden aura and caused Adam's hair to return to White.

Adam couldn't explain it, but he felt as though the Stone wanted to be with him and not Mumm-Ra.

Cheers were heard from around them, and both Adam and Leo saw that the animals had gathered through the front entrance without her noticing.

Panthera moved through the crowd and came up to them.

"You just accomplished the impossible." Said Panthera with a smile to Leo and Adam.

They smirked back.

The moment however was broken when the entire ship suddenly lurched and alarms began to go off.

Panthera pressed a few keys on a computer to see what was happening.

"The ship's instruments are going haywire, some kind of magnetic storm is fighting the gravity of this planet's moons, we're on a crash course for!" Yelled Panthera as she didn't know he name of the planet.

"Third Earth." Said Adam.

They looked up through a window to see the magnetic storm taking place on the planet.

Everyone was so distracted by it that no one noticed Mumm-Ra getting up.

"Yours is a fleeting victory." Said Mumm-Ra as he chuckled.

"I will live to collect what's mine." Said Mumm-Ra as he went over to a machine and pressed a few buttons, opening a type of containment unit.

With all the cold streams of air suddenly flowing from it.

Adam ran to stop him from getting inside, but the doors shut before he could, Adam tried to pull them open, but it was no good.

"If we can't pry it open, let's make sure he can't either!" Yelled Panthera as she slammed her fists down on the device effectively breaking it and putting it out of use.

The animals cheered again.

Leo kept his gaze on the window like he had when Panthera spoke.

"What do you think we should do?" Asked Panthera.

Leo took one glance at the storm then back at the Panthera.

"Brace for impact." Said Leo.

She leaned down and pressed her lips to his.

Leo kissed her back, putting his arms around her neck as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

As the ship got further and further into the atmosphere the ship began to build up in heat from the friction it was making as it fell.

A bright, blinding light suddenly encompassed Adam's sight and he found themselves back in the ocean of data that he had started in.

He looked around in confusion, wondering what the heck had just happened as Jaga's form appeared before him.

"The impact of the crash disrupted the Book's record." Said Jaga as he began to explain.

"But left enough of the crew alive to begin civilization anew here on Third Earth." Said Jaga.

"But the Stones, where are they and what did the animals think happened to me?" Asked Adam in confusion.

"As far as the ancient animals know you were disintegrated when the ship crashed and as for the Stones, they were scattered by the winds across Third Earth, the Book will be your guide to them." Said Jaga.

Adam nodded in understanding.

"But remember, it will take more than that power alone to defeat this monster." Said Jaga

"I have to bring the animals together against him, not just the Stones, we Unite or Fall." Said Adam as he repeated what Leo said before, now knowing what to do.

Jaga nodded once.

"So is this how my story ends, me defeating Mumm-Ra and I go back home as well as Carter?" Asked Adam with hope.

Jaga shook his head.

"No Adam, even if you do defeat Mumm-Ra you and Carter will still continue on your journey and fulfil you destinies." Said Jaga.

"Our Destinies, what are they?" Asked Adam in confusion as to what his destiny could be.

"I am afraid i cannot reveal to you yet, go now, Adam." Said Jaga.

He felt himself being pulled away from Jaga and away from the book.

"Wait, I have more questions!" Yelled Adam.

Jaga said nothing as he disappeared into the waves of data as Adam was pulled away from it.

His eyes flashed open and he looked to see all of his friends around him and looking at him worriedly.

He slowly sat up and met their gazes, assuring them that he was fine.

Adam stood up.

Adam looked at the others seriously.

"I know what we have to do." Said Adam.

"Now that's quite a story." Said Tygra.

Adam had just finished telling them what they had seen in the book but made sure not to give out spoilers.

It was nightfall and everyone had finished their supper a long time ago and they were all close to getting ready to sleep.

"So that's why you need to find these other stones before Mumm-Ra?" Asked Panthro.

Adam nodded to confirm.

"That doesn't sound too hard." Said Panthro.

"It probably will be, seeing as we have no idea where to start." Said Cheetara.

"Jaga said that the Book would be our guide." Said Adam as he held up the Book.

"I bet if Mumm-Ra could hook that book up to his machines, we could just as easily hook it up to the ThunderTank." Said Adam.

Panthro was orginally against the idea but he eventually came around to it.

Everyone soon went to sleep as they'll need all the energy they need to begin their adventures.

Unknown to them was that someone was watching them.


	13. Friend or Foe?

Panthro sat in the driver's seat of the Thunder Tank as he waited for Tygra to finish hooking up the Book of Omens to his navigational system.

"By the time you get the Book of Omens rigged up, Mumm-Ra will have conquered the planet!" Yelled Panthro as he was getting impatient with Tygra's constant drilling.

"Never rush, genius." Said Tygra as he continued to drill.

Panthro sighed exasperatedly and put his hand to his head and shaking it.

Tygra pulled himself up from underneath the tank and moved into the seat next to Panthro's.

"There." Said Tygra as he turned to him.

"Fire it up!" Yelled Tygra.

Panthro did so by pulling back on the two levers that acted as the tank's steering wheel to power it up.

Everything seemed to work perfectly.

The tank's electronic systems up and running and the book displaying where to find the nearest Stone.

But something short-circuited, and the tank was shut down and the Book of Omens was smoking from its sudden misuse of instillation.

A loud popping sound came from behind them, and the two looked back to see the engine had given out again.

Tygra grimaced as he was looking at the smoking book.

"We're gonna be here a while." Said Tygra.

Panthro glared at him.

"I just hope Adam and Carter are doing better at getting the supplies." Said Panthro.

Tygra glared at him for that.

Cheetara and the Kittens came up to them.

"Speaking of which they should be back by now." Said Cheetara.

"Is it wise for those two to go off on their own, they still know next to nothing about Third Earth." Said Tygra as he went back to work.

"They have to learn sooner or later." Said Panthro.

Adam and Carter were walking their way back to the ThunderTank with supplies they need.

"So what did it felt like when used all four of the stones?" Asked Carter as he still knew next to nothing.

"It felt amazing, like I actually had no limit, like I really could do anything, I just wonder why the Stones chose me as their host, I mean sure Mumm-Ra's evil and everything but he's more powerful then me." Said Adam in confusion.

"Oh they chose you because you are the son of the White Wizard and Dragon King aka the cliched Chosen One." Replied a different voice.

Now this made both Adam and Carter stopped and looked around to see where that voice came from.

They turned around to see the woman from before eating apple.

"That's why the Power Stones chose you." Replied the woman as she took a bite of the apple she was holding.

"Greetings." Said the woman.

Adam and Carter looked at her suspiciously.

"I'm sorry who are you exactly?" Asked Adam

"Oh right I forgot." Said the woman.

The woman bowed to him.

"Adam Ordeis, Lord of Third Earth, White Wizard and The Dragon King and Carter Vamir, Avatar, Bridge of the Spirits and Wielder of the Hearts, I am Adira." Said Adira as she promptly introduced herself to Adam and Carter.

Carter noticed a mark on her hand which looks like a circle with three slash marks on it.

"And what is it, you want Adira?" Asked Carter.

"Oh word with Adam, alone." Said Adira as she walked over to them.

"And why would I leave you alone with him, for all we know you could be an ally of Mumm-Ra." Said Carter.

"I can assure you, I am a friend, you can ask Mumm-Rana if you don't belive me." Said Adira.

That comment Adam and Carter froze.

"You know Mumm-Rana?" Asked Adam.

Adira nodded.

"Yes, she's an old friend of mine." Said Adira as she showed the duo Mumm-Rana's crest.

Carter narrowed his eyes.

"All right, but I'll be within hearing range, so don't try anything funny." Warned Carter as he walked off.

Adira then walked up to Adam.

"Who are you exactly, Adira and how did you know both mine and Carter's names?" Asked Adam as he didn't know if he can trust her or not.

"I can't give you all the awnsers, I am here to make sure you get to your destiny." Replied Adira as she gave Adam a scroll that had the images of the four power stones with writing down below them.

"My destiny?" Asked Adam.

"Defeating Mumm-Ra will only be starting point, you will face other enemies who are even stronger then him, but I wouldn't worry about that now." Said Adira like it was no big deal.

"I'll only help you when extreme trouble comes your way." Said Adira as she walked off into the forest.

Carter soon came back once she left.

"Do you think we can trust her?" Asked Carter.

He looked at the scroll.

"Let's give her the benefit of doubt for now." Said Adam as he rolled up the scroll and continued walking back to the ThunderTank.

They made it back.

Panthro noticed them first.

"What in blazes took you two so long?" Asked Panthero.

"Long story." Replied Adam.

Tygra came up.

"Good news, I finally got the Book of Omens connected, we can finally start our journey." Said Tygra.

"That's a relief." Said Cheetara as she and the kittens went into the ThunderTank with Adam and Carter behind them.

The Tank soon began to drive.

Adam unrolled the scroll and began to read the writing on it.


	14. Berbils

Panthro pounded his hammer against the metal hull of the Thunder Tank as he tried to fix it as it had broken down again and they had to stop so he could try and make repairs which was exceedingly difficult in the rain.

"The problem with a tank this old is it keeps breaking down." Said Panthro to himself as he unscrewed one of the bolts on the engine.

"Junk cylinder blew the whole drive train." Said Panthro.

When he finished he wiped away some sweat that had formed on his forehead.

"Let's see how this works." Said Panthro as he reached in and started up the engine.

It hummed as it powered up but something went wrong, and something popped.

Smoke came out from the engine and Panthro sighed.

He was surprised when the tank door opened and even more smoke billowed out as everyone dashed out of the tank coughing and trying to breathe in some fresh air.

"I guess we're sleeping outside tonight." Said Cheetara still coughing.

Panthro was still working away on the tank.

Kit was playing a tune on her instrument.

Kat and Snarf were next to her.

The area was filled with gigantic mushrooms, and they were using them as something to try and shield them from the rain, but it wasn't working too well. Cheetara and Tygra had already gone to sleep leaning against each other, their sleeping bodies seeking warmth from the other.

Adam shifted, trying to get comfortable.

"Things are looking up." Said Adam sarcastically.

"No transportation, nothing to eat, and no shelter." Said Adam as he looked up at the sky.

"If the rain stopped, it might be bearable." Said Adam as he begins to close his eyes.

As they slept though they never noticed the strange creatures that were appearing around them their shadows cast over their sleeping bodies as they moved around.

That morning, Adam was one of the last ones to wake up.

He noticed something.

There was no rain falling on him.

"Rain finally stop?" asked Adam to the others.

"No, but Panthro must've built a shelter while we were asleep." Said Tygra as he pointed up above them and they saw a huge tent above them blocking the rain from where they were.

"It wasn't me." Said Panthro from where he was working on the tank,.

"Figured it was one of you." Said Panthro.

The group shared glances then turned their attention to Cheetara who jumped at their stares.

"Don't look at me." Said Cheetara, putting up her hands.

They looked up when Kat and Kit came down from where they had been sleeping above.

"We're starving!" Yelled Kit with a whine.

"Yeah, what's there to eat?" Asked Kat as he went over to one of the bags that carried all of their food.

He reached inside, and frowned when he found nothing.

He turned the bag upside down and dumped out whatever dust was left inside with a sad whine.

"We're gonna have to do something about our food situation." Said Adam.

Kit looked around them and her eyes widened when she saw something not too far away.

"It looks like someone already has." Said Kit as she pointed to the baskets of fruit.

Kat and Kit ran towards the baskets, chowing down on the food.

Panthro went over to one of the baskets and picked up one of the fruits and took a bite out of it.

"Mm Candy fruit!" Said Panthro with a smile.

Before Adam and Carter could ask, Tygra spoke up.

"Uh, take it easy!" Yelled Tygra to Kat and Kit when he saw how fiercely they were going at the candy fruit.

"We don't need you anymore hyper than you already are." Said Tygra but the kittens ignored him and continued eating.

"Seems like we have someone helping us out." Said Cheetara looking around them.

"Question is, who?" Asked Adam.

"How are we supposed to find out who brought us this stuff?" Asked Tygra.

Cheetara put her hand to her chin in thought for a moment.

"I have an idea." Said Cheetara to the others.

Everyone went and hid behind some of the strange, giant mushrooms and waiting for the person who helped them to arrive.

They were surprised when little balls of fur started rolling around their campsite and going to the tank.

They unrolled to reveal they were little metal bears.

Once they reached the tank they started opening up different compartments for some of its mechanical workings.

"What are they doing?" Asked Adam as they opened up the engine compartment.

"I'll tell you what." Said Panthro angrily.

"They're messing with my baby!" Yelled Panthro as he jumped out of the hiding spot.

"Panthro, wait!" Yelled Adam, trying to get him to come back.

"What are you furry freaks doing to my tank?!" Asked/Yelled Panthro as he ran towards the creatures.

When they saw him coming they turned into little balls and started rolling away but Panthro managed to snag one before he could escape.

"Gotcha!" Yelled Panthro.

"Put me down, put me down." Said a metallic voice.

"What is that?" Asked Cheetara as she and the others came over to it.

"Ro-Bear-Bill, a Ro-Bear-Berbil." Said The small bear as Panthro put him down.

"Did he say gerbil?" Asked Tygra not understanding the way he spoke.

"Berbil." Replied The bear.

"Derbil?" Asked Panthro.

"Berbil." Replied The bear again.

"Herbal derbilly berbil-urble." Said Adam in confusion.

"Nice to meet you Ro-Bear-Bill." Said Kit in a very fast-talking voice since she was still on a rush from the candy fruit as was Kat.

"I'm WilyKit, and this is WilyKat, and we're ThunderCats!" Yelled Kit.

She started chowing down on the candy fruit again.

"Thunder Cats?" Asked Ro-Bear-Bill, as if testing out a new word.

"Berbils help ThunderCats." Said Ro-Bear-Bill.

A moment later did some of the other Berbils reappear before them and looked up at them with their mechanic eyes.

"I've never seen anything so." Said Adam as he tried to find the right word to describe them.

"Cute." Said Carter as he looked at the Berbils.

The Berbils walked over to the ThunderTank and started doing what they had done before.

"They'll be cute and dead if they hurt my tank." Said Panthro with a growl as he watched them work on it.

A few seconds later they tested the engine and it worked perfectly.

"Looks like they fixed it, Panthro." Tygra said to him.

Panthro scoffed.

"Just a patch. I could have done that." Said Panthro.

"Then why didn't you?" Asked Carter and that sent him a glare.

Ro-Bear-Bill hopped down from the tank in front of Adam and pulled on his arm.

"Come with Ro-Bear-Bill." Said Ro-Bear-Bill as he was trying to take Adam somewhere.

"Berbils fix machines." Said Ro-Bear-Bill.

Adam pulled up his arm and Ro-Bear-Bill still hung onto it.

"Berbils help ThunderCats." Said Ro-Bear-Bill.

Adam shrugged and put the bear down letting him lead the way somewhere and everyone but Panthro followed him.

Cheetara noticed his absence and turned around to see him scowling with his arms crossed.

"You coming?" Asked Cheetara.

"Fine, but I don't trust anything that adorable." Said Panthro as he closed his eyes.

They followed the Berbils as they led them through the heavily forested mushrooms.

Panthro drove his ThunderTank behind them not once commenting on how much better it seemed to run since the Berbils fixed it.

They followed the Berbils to a village surrounded by trees that bore candy fruit.

They were amazed to see the entire village of Berbils was filled with all different kinds of technology some for picking the candy fruit off the trees some for watering the trees that bore them, and various other pieces of technology all throughout the village.

"I've never seen anything like this place." Said Tygra.

"It's like they have a contraption for everything." Said Adam, looking around.

"This place gives me the creeps." Said Panthro as he was glaring at everything in the village.

As they came into the middle of the village the Berbils gathered all around them cheering in their metallic voices at their arrival.

As they approached a rather large building two Berbils, one tiny little blue one and a pink one with a flower beside its ear came down to greet Ro-Bear-Bill.

He picked up the little blue one and spun him around in the air before putting him back down so he could see everyone.

"Meet Ro-Bear-Beebil." Said Ro-Bear-Bill.

"Meet Ro-Bear-Bella, this is Ro-Bear-Bill family." Said Ro-Bear-Bill.

One of the candy fruit picking machines rolling up.

Kat and Kit ran up to it as it came to Ro-Bear-Bill and he pulled some out.

"Candy fruit, eat, good." Said Ro-Bear-Bill as he handed one to each of them.

"Yum, Candy fruit!" Yelled Kit happily as she and her brother started chowing down.

"Looks like you were worried about nothing, Panthro." Said Cheetara.

Panthro scowled and walked over to the machine and looking over it.

"You really think these fur balls are helping us don't expect something in return?" Asked Panthro.

"Have you considered that, maybe they're just nice?" Asked Adam.

Everyone jumped as a loud alarm started going off, and red lights started flashing.

"What's going on?" Asked Adam.

The Berbils started turning into little balls and rolling away into some kind of underground shelter that opened up for them.

Only a moment later did two explosions occur just outside the village making the ground shake beneath them.

Adam looked back to Ro-Bear-Bill for an explanation.

"Conquedor comes." Said Ro-Bear-Bill.

"Conquedor takes Berbils, sell Berbils as slaves." Said Ro-Bear-Bill.

The ground shook again but not from another explosion.

This time it was a huge tank.

It came through the smoke made by the explosion and stopped in front of the village.

The top of it opened to reveal a heavily armoured man with a rotund belly and skinny arms.

He searched the village until he found one of the smaller Berbils running from him.

He moved the tank forward and a huge claw coming out and grabbing the Berbil.

"Help Ro-Bear-Bob." Said The bear loudly in his mechanical voice.

"We have to stop that!" Yelled Cheetara as she was pulling out her staff and spinning it expertly.

"What did I tell you guys?" Asked Panthro.

"Trying to use their cuteness to get us to fight their battle." Said Panthro.

"Well, looks like it worked." Said Adam, pulling out his sword.

Carter ran towards the tank as it opened up a compartment and had the claw dangle the Berbil over it.

He dashed towards it and jumped over the compartment grabbing the bear and holding it to his chest as he landed on the other side.

He glared up at the Conquedor as he turned his attention to her and the others.

"So, the Berbils have enlisted the help of the fabled ThunderCats." Said the Conquedor as he was looking over them.

The Conquedor pulled out a large gun, and they heard it hum as it powered up.

"Risking your lives for a bunch of junk heaps?" Asked The Conquedor.

"And I thought these robots were brainless fools!" Yelled the Conquedor.

Adam pulled out his sword.

"ThunderCats Ho!" Yelled Adam as the sword lengthened completely and ready for battle.

The Conquedor fired off his gun at Adam who ran to avoid the strange blue projectiles coming from the large gun.

Once he was out of the Conquedor's aiming range he started firing off at Tygra who ran just as Adam did.

He jumped into the air and used his whip to turn himself invisible.

Once he was out of the Conquedor's sight he started firing at Cheetara whose speed made certain that she wouldn't get hit.

Once firing with his gun no longer worked, the Conquedor started using a pair of blasters that shot out a green substance at her.

She ran fast, avoiding the blasts and went out of his range soon enough.

Carter started using his earth powers to lift up bolders and the earth to hit his tank but the Conquedor used his gun with a weird goo that kept him on the ground.

The Conquedor laughed but he stopped when he felt something wrap around his throat and Tygra became visible again showing that he was the one who was choking him.

The Conquedor reached up to a small button on his wrist and pressed it sending an electrical jolt through him to Tygra.

He cried out in pain and fell from the tank paralyzed.

"Tygra!" Yelled Adam.

Adam and Panthro ran to help him but the Conquedor fired again and trapped Panthro in the blue substance.

The tank began to move again and its claw reached out and grabbed Ro-Bear-Bill's family.

"Bella, Beebil." Said Ro-Bear-Bill.

Ro-Bear-Bill went after them in his ball form and grabbed onto Bella's metallic hand just as the claw lifted them up over the tank.

It shook him off, the Conquedor needing no more Berbils at the moment and threw him to the ground.

Ro-Bear-Bill's body shook with sparks flying out of him as he became damaged from the landing.

The tank drove off with Bella and Beebil with it.

Once he was gone Tygra sat up holding his head with a groan as he started to recover from the sudden electrocution.

Panthro pulled the sticky blue substance off him and stood up as did Carter.

"Adam!" Yelled Cheetara.

They looked to see her holding a familiar Berbil in her arms.

"It's Ro-Bear-Bill, He doesn't look good." Said Cheetara.

Everyone went over to the damaged Berbil, who didn't look good at all.

His metal body had various dents in it from the fall and some of his circuitry hung out from his neck.

The Berbils around them instantly took him from Cheetara's arms and took him to the large building in the middle of the village.

They followed them inside as they put him down on a table and grabbed some tools, working to repair him.

Kit looked at the others worriedly.

"Can they fix him?" Asjed Kit but no one replied as they watched the Berbils fiddling around with Ro-Bear-Bill's circuitry trying to fix it and bring him back.

After a moment of drilling and welding they looked up, talking to each other in little, computer-like buzzes, which must have been something of a language for them.

Panthro sighed.

"I can't take watching these amateurs." Said Panthro as he walked over to the table in front of one of the Berbils and swiping his instrument out of his hand.

"Give me that, you're doing it all wrong." Said Panthro as he leaned down and started working on Ro-Bear-Bill and sparks flying from his work.

"Good idea." Said one of the Berbils near him said.

"Now reset function levels." Said the Berbil.

Panthro glanced at him and then back at Ro-Bear-Bill.

"Oh, yeah." Said Panthro as he was looking at the circuitry.

"I see what you're saying." Said Panthro as he went back to work the instrument in his hands pressing down on different parts of the technological body before him.

After a moment he stood up with a sigh wiping his forehead of sweat caused by the heat of the sparks he had made.

Everyone gathered a little closer to see what had happened, and Ro-Bear-Bill hopped up looking as good as new.

"All servos functional." Said Ro-Bear-Bill.

He turned to Panthro.

"Ro-Bear-Bill lives." Said Ro-Bear-Bill as he did a quick check of all his limbs rotations making him look like he was doing a breakdance then looked back at Panthro.

"He's lookin' good, now." Said Panthro with a grin.

"Lookin' good." Said Ro-Bear-Berbil, as if testing out a new phrase which he probably was.

He came down from the table and the Berbils cheered.

Ro-Bear-Bill went over to Panthro and hugged his leg.

Panthro grimaced.

"Cat save Bill, thank you Cat, cat builder too." Said Ro-Bear-Bill.

"Ro-Cat-Panthro, Ro-Cat-Panthro." Said The other Berbils as they cheered coming over and hugging his legs like Bill had.

Panthro grimaced as they all clung to him and he groaned in frustration and grasping at his head to try and keep himself from kicking them all off and smashing them in a wall by mistake.

Adam and Carter shared a glance smiling in mirth at Panthro's situation.

"Okay, that's enough." Said Panthro as he finally got them off his legs and a Berbil came up, showing him a limp arm that had been damaged in the Conquedor's attacks.

Panthro sighed and had him get up on the table and started working on him.

Adam and Carter went outside.

Adam looked sadly at the damage caused by the Conquedor to the Berbil's village.

Adam came up beside him, grasping his hand in his shoulder and squeezing it comfortingly.

Adam looked over at her.

"Look at all of this." Said Adam as he was gesturing to the village.

"Some heroes we are." Said Adam in depression.

"It can be fixed Adam, whatever can be destroyed can be rebuilt, that's one of the wonders of the world." Said Carter.

"But what about all the Berbils that were taken, how do we fix that?" Asked Adam.

"We go and get them back." Said Carter with an encouraging smile,

Bill rolled up beside Adam and Carter, looking out at the village.

"My Bella, my Beebil, too, Ro-Bear-Bill's family." Said Ro-Bear-Bill with what sounded like sad in his mechanical voice at the loss of his family.

Adam knelt down beside him.

"Do you know where the Conquedor has taken your family?" Asked Adam.

"Conquedor sell Berbils." Replied Ro-Bear-Bill.

"Ro-Bear-Bill knows." Said Ro-Bear-Bill.

"Then you can take us there." Said Adam as he stood up.

"Cheetara, Tygra, Panthro, you keep an eye on the village." Said Adam.

Panthro heard his words and instantly stopped what he was doing.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, there's no way you're leaving me with these things!" Yelled Panthro as he, Cheetara and Tygra ran out to stop them, only to see them gone.

They growled in frustration.

"Great." Muttered Panthro.

Ro-Bear-Bill led them to a cliff where they could see the Conquedor and some customers as he tried to restrain some kind of giant blue animal that looked like a mixture of a mountain lion and a fox only twice as big.

They wore special cloaks to protect them from the harsh sunlight that shone down on them.

"There Conquedor sells to bad ones." Said Ro-Bear-Bill as he was pointing to the tank.

"Trollicks, Giantors, all bad." Said Ro-Bear-Bill.

His eyes doubled as telescopes and he could see the Berbils that were hiding behind a curtain electric restraints around them.

"Bella, Beebil." Said Ro-Bear-Bill a he went after them but Adam held him back.

"We can't take 'em all on." Said Carter as he was looking at the large group.

"I think I got an idea, we'll sneak into the buying crowd and make our move there, but only on my signal." Said Adam as he looked at Carter.

They started going down the cliff avoiding the attention of all those at the auction just as the Berbils came up for sale.

They heard the Conquedor give his sales pitch about them as he moved in.

"Next up, The Ro-Bear Berbils, best builders money can buy!" Yelled the Conquedor as he reveal the Berbils.

"Efficient, tireless, and most importantly, defenceless!" Yelled the Conquedor as he laughed.

"Bidding starts at one thousand for the lot, do I hear fifteen hundred?" Asked the Conquedor.

One of the Giantors raised his hand.

"How about two thousand?" Asked The Conquedor again.

One of the Trollicks raised his hand.

"Three thousand?" Asked The Conquedor yet again.

Another trollick raised his hand.

"Now, we're talking thirty-five hundred, five thousand, Do I hear—?" Asked The Conquedor as the hands kept coming up before being interrupted.

"Ten thousand!" Yelled Adam.

Everyone stopped bidding and looked at Adam and Carter in surprise.

"That's a lot of shillings, pal!" Yelled The Conquedor as he pulled out a rifle.

"How do you plan to pay for all that?" Asked the Conquedor.

Adam pulled off his cloak.

"In steel." Replied Adam.

He pulled his sword out from his gauntlet and Carter took off his cloak as well.

The Conquedor pulled out his gun and was about ready to fire but Adam jumped up, slicing the chains that held back the big blue beast and let it go.

It knocked the Conquedor down before running out into the crowd, scaring away all who were there.

The Conquedor got up and pulled his rifle up and aiming it for Adam, but it was suddenly pulled out of his hands by a whip made out of Water that was wielded by Carter .

Ro-Bear-Bill got up to his wife and son where they were being held.

Once their bonds were released they immediately went to him, hugging him.

"Bella, Beebil." Said Ro-Bear-Bill.

Quickly all of the Berbils were freed from their bonds and they ran away with the ThunderCats as well as the blue cat creature.

As they ran they could hear the Conquedor shouting behind them.

"That's it, you messed with the wrong guy!" Yelled the Conquedor.

"I'm gonna gut every last one of you, you hear me, we're coming back, all of us!" Yelled the Conquedor.

Once they were far enough away they stopped running and started walking to the Berbils's village.

Carter sighed as he was running his hand through his hair.

"What's wrong?" Asked Adam.

"Do you miss home?" Asked Carter.

"Of course I miss my home, I mean I could do without the harassment but I still miss it." Replied Adam.

They later came to the Berbil village.

They saw Tygra, Cheetara, Kat, Kit, Snarf, and Panthro coming to them as the other Berbils dashed towards the ones that had been rescued.

"We can't celebrate yet." Said Adam.

"The Conquedor is coming back." Said Adam.

"And this time he's bringing friends." Said Carter.

"We have some friends of our own." Said Panthro as he was gesturing to the Berbils.

"Except they don't know how to fight." Said Carter.

"But they do know how to build." Said Panthro.

He looked down at the Berbils in front of him.

"You guys ready to save your village?" Asked Panthro.

Adam and Carter glanced at each other as they were curious as to Panthro's sudden change of opinion about the Berbils.

They watched as Ro-Bear-Bill went up to him and saluted him saying he was ready to help.

Panthro grinned as he saluted him back.

Night had fallen and ThunderCats were on the lookout for the Conquedor.

It wasn't too long before they spotted him in the distance, all of his friends coming with him.

"Here they come." Said Adam when he saw them.

"Let's hope these bears know what they're doing." Said Carter as he was glancing at the village behind them.

As the Giantors and the Trollicks came into view.

Adam reached for his gauntlet, pulling out his sword, swinging it once.

He held the sword up and pointed the blade to the sky.

"ThunderCats, ho!" Yelled Adam as the sword lit up and a red beam coming out of it and making the ThunderCats symbol on the sky as well as giving everyone the cue to attack.

They could see the ThunderTank coming towards them as it was blaster powering up.

The Berbils fired off their electric cannons at the Conquedor's tank and sending jolts through it which is causing it to malfunction temporarily.

One of the Giantors was almost knocked down when a candy fruit was blasted at him through a cannon.

Multiple cannons fired off at him and he used a huge club to knock them back.

Kat and Kit were helping the Berbils man the cannons and was still holding some candy fruit in their hands.

"Candy fruit, do your thing!" Yelled Kat before taking a big bite out of the fruit and making his fur stood on end as the rush of the sugar inside it went through his system.

The same thing happening to Kit as she took an even bigger bite out of her candy fruit.

Once they were all hyped up they started teasing and taunting the Giantor and using their new hyper energy to make themselves a little faster and avoid whenever his club was about to come down on them.

They led him to where a trip wire was set up and he fell face-first into a pile of splintery wood that they had set up just for a Giantor.

He cried out as he rolled around in pain from the wood.

Another Giantor not too far away was removing one of the electric claws from the cannons from his behind with a Trollick beside him, helping him.

The Trollick screamed out suddenly when he felt a sudden pain in his backside and looked to see Snarf had bit him.

When he released his teeth the Trollick started chasing after him.

Snarf ran towards a small almost destroyed building and made it look like he had jumped into the larger hole and when he had jumped over it and into the smaller one.

The Trollick jumped into the bigger hole after him as he was thinking he was in there.

When he came up he was surprised to see Snarf in a separate hole and was about to reach out and grab him when he was blasted with green goop that caused his grip on the walls of the hole to fail and he fell inside.

The Berbils that had aimed the cannon at him cheered happily.

Tygra whistled appreciatively at the work the Berbils were doing.

Adam glanced back at the others and went to join.

Cheetara went first and was dashing around a Giantor and pulling a rope around his face.

She tugged at it making him walk back into a giant spring that sent him flying into the air.

A little ways away she saw little Beebil cheering happily at the success of their invention.

He stopped cheering and started crying for help when he was picked up by one of the Trollicks and held there.

He and another Trollick were about to run off with him when the earth beneath them suddenly began to rumble.

They screamed when two pillars of earth shot up directly beneath their feet.

In their shock they dropped Beebil, and Carter used his powers to have him safely float towards him and into his arms.

When one Trollick came up behind him.

He took in a deep breath and turned around and was unleash a massive force of Earth towards the Trollick which caused him to be pushed back to parts unknown.

Carter smirked victoriously as Beebil wrapped his little mechanical arms around his neck and hanging onto him for protection.

A little further away from the village, the Conquedor was fleeing in his huge tank.

Panthro came down riding next to him and trying to knock his tank over with the ThunderTank which was very difficult since the Conquedor's tank was twice the ThunderTank's size.

He drove out in front of it trying to get it to stop, but it didn't.

The Tank drove straight into a cliff and when they hit it Panthro thought that was the end of it.

But the Conquedor drove the ThunderTank up the cliff and onto the top of it making it spin out of control.

The Tank came to a stop just before it went over the edge of another cliff and facing the Conquedor's tank.

The Conquedor started firing off bullets at them and Panthro covered Ro-Bear-Bill protectively and ducked down so they wouldn't get shot.

Panthro reached for the tank's controls and smirked.

"Time to see how tough this new engine really is." Said Panthro as he had the ThunderTank shoot forward towards the Conquedor's and he started going to Panthro's as well.

The Conquedor laughed.

Panthro pressed a button and two metal claws shot out from the tank's exterior, and hit the Conquedor's tank making it rear up and fall on its side.

Panthro parked the tank a little ways from it and stepped out and began looking at the damage he had caused.

He looked around, wondering if he would find the Conquedor's body somewhere.

He was a little disappointed when he saw the Conquedor roll out of the tank clutching a rifle in his hands.

Adam hopped up on the fallen tank and was pointing his sword at the Conquedor.

"I should have warned you, Panthro doesn't like people messing with his tank." Said Adam with a smirk.

"What do I care?" Asked The Conquedor as he turned his gaze to Adam.

"I'll just force these worthless robots to build me another and demolish any that don't listen!" Yelled the Conquedor as e pulled up his rifle and fired at Adam.

He stepped to the side to avoid the shot and growled at him.

"You still don't understand!" Yelled Adam as he hopped down to the Conquedor and raised up his sword.

"These bears!" Yelled Adam as he struck his sword against his rifle as he held it up in defense.

"Are not!" Yelled Adam as he struck it again.

"Your property!" Yelled Adam as he sliced through the rifle, and knocked the Conquedor down.

The Conquedor, frightened by Adam's power got up and ran.

The sound of Panthro's tank over the cliff was enough to scare off any remaining Trollicks or Giantors in the Berbil village.

Once they had all run off Ro-Bear-Bill cheered and the other Berbils joined him.

The next morning everyone watched as the Berbils worked to repair the buildings in the village.

Adam looked at how easily they were recovering and looked back at the others.

"I don't think the Conquedor will be coming back any time soon." Said Adam.

"Not with the village rigged like this." Said Carter as he as looking up at the giant spring that Kit, Kat and Beebil were sitting on as it swayed back and forth.

Panthro and Ro-Bear-Bill were doing a little construction on the ThunderTank.

"I have to admit, despite your cuddly appearance, you guys are grade-A builders in my book." Said Panthro.

Ro-Bear-Bill looked up from where he had been polishing the engine.

"Berbils love Panthro." Said Ro-Bear-Bill as he went over to him and held out his mechanical arms.

"Hug?" Asked Ro-Bear-Bill.

"A hug?" Asked Panthro as he looked away.

"Uh, I'm not really much of a hugger." Said Panthro.

"Hug, hug, hug, hug." Said Ro-Bear-Bill repeatedly.

Panthro looked around, checking to see if anyone was close by and then smiled and held out his arms.

"Oh, what the heck?" Asked Panthro.

Ro-Bear-Bill jumped into his arms and Panthro hugged him with a grin.

"Busted!" Yelled Kat.

Panthro looked up to see the twins resting on the top of his tank, watching them with big grins.

"Panthro's a big ol' softie." Said Kit as she teased.

Panthro put on his best glare at them.

"Is that a problem?" Asked Panthro.

The twins jumped up fearfully.

"Nope." Said Kit.

"It's cool." Said Kat.

They ran from the tank with Panthro and Ro-Bear-Bill laughting.


	15. Sight Beyond Sight

Evryone was sitting on the ThunderTank including Snowmeow who became part of their team after Berbils fight.

A 'blip' was heard and Panthro's face came up on a small screen in the tank.

"Book says the Stone is dead ahead." Said Panthro with a grin.

Now this got everyone made happy, they'll soon have another Stone for them to beat Mumm-Ra.

Soon enough the ThunderTank and everyone got out.

They saw a huge oval shape at least fifty feet tall and it depicted what looked like an elephant with long nose and fat limbs.

They all looked up in awe at the huge set of stairs before them.

It led up to the top of what was either a small mountain, or a large hill.

"Check this out." Said Adam when he saw it.

The Kittens ran up to the stairs and Snarf beside them.

After climbing to the top of the stairs they saw a huge gate waiting for them at the top, with unusual designs decorating its stone walls.

Carter gave a low whistle in appreciation at the sight of it.

Everyone walked through the gates looking around at the huge buildings that were on the other side.

"Everything's so big." Said Adam as he looked around and his eyes widened when he saw a group of elephants in the middle of the village sitting still in the middle of a stone circle surrounded by a lily pond.

"Including the residents." Said Carter when he saw them.

They were all dressed in robes sitting cross-legged eyes shut and hands together in front of them.

They crossed the small bridge over the lily pond and went over to them and none of them acknowledged their presence.

Adan cleared his throat to try and get them to notice them but they did nothing.

"Uh, excuse me?" Asked Adam, trying to get their attention again but it didn't do anything.

"Hello?!" Yelled Adam.

The elephants all jumped at his loud voice looking around them.

Adam smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry." Said Adam as he stepped forward.

"I am Adam Ordeis, Lord of Third Earth." Said Adam.

The elephants stood up and they all gawked at their height which was around ten feet, at least.

"I am Aburn." Said the one elephant dressed in an orange robe,

"And you are?" Asked Aburn.

Adam looked at him oddly.

"Uh, Name's Adam Ordeis, Lord of Third Earth." Said Adam as repeated.

"Welcome Ada." Said Aburn with a friendly smile.

"Adam." Said Adam as he corrected.

"How can we assist you?" Asked Aburn.

"We're looking for a magical stone." Replied Adam.

"We believe it's somewhere in your village." Said Cheetara as she was gesturing to the large village around them.

"What is?" Asked Aburn.

"Kind of forgetful, isn't he?" Asked Kat to his sister.

"I think he's cute." Replied Kit as she was smiling up at Aburn.

"Listen, Aburn, we're looking for a stone that looks like this." Said Adam as he tapped the War Stone on his chest.

"When did you lose it?" Asked Aburn.

"We didn't lose it." Replied Cheetara.

"So you have it?" Asked Aburn.

"No, we're looking for it." Replied Tygra in annoyance.

"And what is it exactly you are looking for?" Asked Aburn.

Carter groaned and smacked his forehead with his hand.

Panthro sighed and shook his head.

"You gotta be kidding me." Said Panthro.

Everyone heard a rhythmic bumping through the ground and looked to see another elephant approaching them.

He appeared to looked much older and was dressed in robes different from the other elephants around him and walking with a large staff.

"I can't remember the last time I saw a cats and anyone like you in these parts." Said the old elephant.

"Yes, Anet, they are looking for Uh." Said Aburn before stopping.

He then turned back to the group.

"What were you looking for, Earth-Lord?" Asked Aburn.

"THE STONE!" Yelled Everyone at once.

"If it is the Spirit Stone you seek, then you've come to the right place, we have it here, or we did, once, maybe?" Asked Anet as he smiled sheepishly.

"I'm afraid our memory is not as great as our size, but, please, feel free to have a look around." Said Anet.

Adam turned and looked around, wondering where they should start their search.

Anet laughed.

"No, no, not with those eyes, with that one." Said Anet as he pointed to the War Stone resting in Adam's chest.

Adam looked at him in surprise.

"Yes, I can sense its power, come with me." Said Anet as he walked off to another location with Adam behind him.

After a bit of teaching Adam began practicing.

"Ancient Power of the War Stone, give me Sight Beyond Sight." Said Adam.

The War Stone glowed and Adam's hair and eyes glowed bright red and was surprised when the vision filled his sight.

He could see the Spirit Stone floating around in the darkness somewhere and then the vision stopped.

"Whoa." Said Adam as that never happened before.

"The Stones are all connected, the Spirit Stone senses your presences and wants to be united with it's other." Said Anet.

"But you must do your part into find the Stone for it to happen." Said Anet.

Anet did have a point, although it was great that he had seen the stone through the War Stone he needed to know where it was.

"Ancient Power of the War Stone, give me Sight Beyond Sight." Said Adam, only to see the same vision again.

The stone itself, but no clue as to where it was, he could still only see it floating in darkness.

"Did you see where it was?" Asked Anet.

"No, I just saw the stone again." Replied Adam as he was looking up at the elephant.

"Try once more." Said Anet.

"And this time, work with the stone." Said Anet.

Adam nodded and tried again, only to see the same vision.

"Why isn't this working?" Asked Adam in frustration,

"The War Stone only shows me the Spirt Stone but not where it is." Said Adam.

"Because you are not in harmony with your Stone." Replied Anet.

"The War Stone is more than a tool, Adam." Said Anet.

"It is a part of you, try again." Said Anet.

Adam let out a deep breath before trying again.

"Ancient Power of the War Stone, give me Sight Beyond Sight." Said Adam but again he saw the stone floating in darkness but this time, the vision was cut short because of a loud buzzing that filled their ears.

"I can't concentrate with all that noise!" Yelled Adam in frustration.

"What is it?" Asked Adam.

"The Wraiths!" Yelled Anet worriedly when he heard it.

"They come from the hills for the harvest!" Yelled Anet as he looked out over the mountain the village rested on and saw a huge stream of large bugs came flying towards them.

As the Wraiths flew over the village and the youngest elephants ran to their parents to hide from the bugs as they flew towards a stone building that Adam had seen the elephants carrying baskets of fruit into.

They went through the open entrance of the building and moments later came out a huge number of them at a time carrying one of the large baskets.

Adam ran over to where the others were, preparing to help the elephants in getting their food back.

When they looked over at the elephants they were all surprised to see that they were in the same positions they had been in when they first came to the village.

Sitting with legs crossed hands together and eyes closed and looking peaceful.

"Why are they just sitting there?" Asked Panthro over the loud buzzing the Wraiths made.

"I think they're meditating." Replied Tygra.

Adam went up to Aburn.

"Aren't you gonna do anything?" Asked Adam I confusion.

"But we are." Replied Aburn.

"We are understanding." Said Aburn.

"Well the ThunderCats handle things a little differently." Said Adam as he reached into his gauntlet and pulled out his sword.

"ThunderCats, ho!" Yelled Adam as he ran towards the Wraiths, and every pulled out their weapons and using them against the Wraiths.

Adam used his sword and began cutting a few of them in half.

Cheetara used her staff to knock them away two at a time.

Tygra's whip seemed to be doing some damage, taking out about five Wraiths in one swing.

Panthro's nun-chucks were taking out a few of them.

Carter's fire attacks on the Wraiths seemed to be doing the most damage.

As they fought the deafening sound of the Wraith's buzzing surrounded them and making it difficult for them to hear anything else.

Their attacks didn't take out any of the Wraiths carrying the baskets of fruit.

As they began to fly up higher than where any of them could reach.

Adam jumped up and sliced through one of the baskets.

The fruits fell from the broken basket onto the ground.

The others buzzed off into the sky while carrying the rest.

"Have 'em on the run, now!" Yelled Panthro as he watched them fly away.

"Yeah, but they got what they came for." Said Adam as he was glaring up at the insects.

Anet came towards Adam and looked up at him apologetically.

"They wiped out your harvest." Said Adam with sorrow.

"They took most of our food, but not all of our food, we still have enough to survive." Said Anet.

Anet reached down with his trunk and picked up one of the fallen fruits.

He held up in front of Adam.

"In order to get the water it needs to thrive, this fruit suffers the storms, we, too, must endure hardships to live." Said Anet as he lowered his trunk and put the fruit in Adam's hands.

"Such is the balance of the world." Said Anet to Adam who looked up at the large elephant.

"Remember work in harmony with the War Stone, allow the bigger picture to emerge." Said Anet as he smiled at him.

"Keep practicing." Said Anet as he walked away.

Soon enough everyone walked away, leaving Adam alone.

"If he's not going to do something about the Wraiths, then I will." Said Adam as he took a bite of the fruit.

Soon it was beginning to Sunset and Carter was sitting with Kat and Kit as the elephants meditated not too far away,

Aburn walked over to them.

"That song you are playing, it's very sad." Said Aburn as he noticed the tune.

Kit stopped to look at him

"It's a lullaby." Said Kit.

"Our mother used to hum it to us." Said Kat.

Carter frowned sadly at the mention of their mother.

He couldn't help but wonder what his parents was doing right now, he's even beginning to wonder what's happening to his siblings.

"While you miss her greatly, know she always lives on through your song." Said Aburn.

Kit looked down at her instrument and smiled a melancholy smile as she held it up.

"Oh, but, please continue, I didn't mean to interrupt." Said Aburn with a smile.

Kit started up her tune again and jumped when she heard an unusual trumpeting noise.

She looked over at Aburn who was using his trunk as a horn, playing out a tune to match Kit's while making it less melancholic.

She smiled at him and stood up continuing the tune with Aburn.

Kat stood up as well and was walking along the walls in the village as he kept playing together.

Kit started to speed up the tune and Aburn matched the new pace with ease.

Kat pulled out another strange instrument, putting one end of it under his foot and holding out the other end to stretch out the strings connecting both ends.

He started plucking them, incorporating his own tune into the song.

Their music began to draw the attention of another pair of elephants and walked over to their group swaying in-time to the music.

They stomped their large feet to the beat of the song and began making a drum-like sound as they pounded it against the ground.

Before long the other elephants began to join them and they soon had their own little mini-parade going through the village.

The elephants let the twins ride on their heads as they played their instruments more elephants using their trunks like trumpets matching the tune.

When they reached the center of the village they were put down from atop the elephants' heads and Kit made the tune to her mother's lullaby more happy and upbeat.

The elephants easily accompanied the tune, as did Kat with his own instrument.

As they continued to play they reached the end of the song and Kit gave it her all.

She played the tune up high and she held out the last note of the song and the elephants' trunks sounded loudly holding notes as well.

The twins watched with wide eyes as different stone elephants suddenly cracked and burst from the sound.

They glanced at each other worriedly but were surprised when the elephants only laughed when they saw it.

"Uh, what just happened?" Asked Kit as she was looking at the remains of the statues.

"It seems we achieved perfect harmony." Replied Aburn as he was smiling down at her.

"A beautiful, and powerful thing." Said Aburn.

Kit looked down at her instrument with a smile.

"Wow." Said Kit with awe.

Soon enough it began to Dark and Carter walked around the village and was using his fire powers so he could see through the darkness of the night.

As he walked past the village gate he heard the sound of footsteps pounding against the ground.

He turned and got into a fighting pose and saw Adam running through the gate.

"Where have you been?" Asked Carter as Adam ran up to him and was resting his hands on his knees as he stopped.

Carter noticed his state and looked at him oddly.

"And why are you so tired?" Asked Carter.

"Later!" Yelled Adam as he ran all the way to where some elephants were meditating and called out to one of them.

"Aburn!" Yelled Adam.

The elephant looked up when his name was called and looked curiously at Adam as he came over to him.

"Aren't you supposed to be practicing with Anet?" Asked Aburn.

"I thought I'd do you a favor instead." Replied Adam with a grin.

"I took care of your Wraiths, they won't be bothering you anymore." Said Adam.

Aburn shot up from where he sat and looked at Adam with wide eyes.

"Oh! You shouldn't have done that!" Yelled Aburn in fear.

"What?" Asked Adam in confusion.

"Why?" Asked Adam as he thought that the elephants would have been thrilled to learn the Wraiths wouldn't bug them anymore.

"I don't remember." Replied Aburn and put his hand to his head as he tried to remember.

"But there's a good reason." Said Aburn.

"Because the harmony of the universe is now out of tune." Said Anet as he walked over to them.

"You see Adam, the Wraiths may have taken some of our crops but their loud sounds were all that kept something far worse away from our village." Said Anet.

The ground shook periodically as if something was banging against it.

Everyone ran over to the wall where the sound was coming from and everyone looked down to see what looked like a giant rock creature with a tree growing on the top of his head climbing up the mountain to the village.

Anet came up beside them.

"Without its natural enemy patrolling the sky, this creature will do worse than just eat our food." Said Anet with worry.

Adam looked down at the creature as he came closer to the village with wide eyes.

"I didn't know." Said Adam as he truly had no idea something like this would happen.

"We elephants may not remember much, but we never forget there is a delicate balance to all things." Said Anet as he turned around.

"Come let us meditate." Said Anet as he walked over to where the other elephants were already meditating and Adam turned to the others.

"Come on, we can't wait for it to come to us, it'll destroy the entire village." Said Adam as he ran off and was planning to fix the problem he made.

Everyone followed him except for Kit who took off in another direction.

Kat went over to her.

"Where are you going?" Asked Kat.

"To meditate." Replied Kit.

Kat gaped at her.

He glanced back at the others and then ran after his sister as he has no intention of leaving her alone.

Lion-O pulled out his sword and ran at the creature and was slashing through its outstretched hand and cutting through one of its legs.

Cheetara used her staff to smash through its other leg.

Tygra used his gun to shoot out one of its arms.

Panthro chucked boulders at it.

When one of its arms went for Carter, he jumped up over the hand that had been damaged by Sword of Omens and dashed up the arm.

When he reached the creature's shoulder he put his hand down on it and closed his eyes and then seconds later the stones in the arm was rumbling cracks forming in the shoulder and down through the back until the entire body was covered in those cracks and the entire creature crumbled beneath him.

He moved over to where Adam was and they looked down at the rubble and hoping they had beaten it.

All of them were surprised when the rubble began to move reforming back into the creature.

When it stood up again it settled its stone eyes on the five of them and a tree on the top of its head began to glow green.

Suddenly huge boulders surrounded them trapping them inside a stone container.

Once they were out of his way the golem continued onward towards the elephant village.

Inside the container the ThunderCats tried to break through it but could not.

The creature went past the village walls and seeing that the elephants weren't offering any resistance to it.

It went through the village and opened his mouth eating away at the stone buildings throughout the village.

Kat and Kit looked at the golem with wide eyes.

"What should we do?" Asked Kit as she was watching the creature chowed down on the buildings.

"Simply let the answer come to you." Said Aburn as he was peeking his eye open in his meditation.

Kit gazed at him for a moment contemplating his words.

She looked down at her hands and saw her instrument still rested in her grasp.

She looked up at the stone golem, and she was struck with an idea.

She placed the circular instrument to her lips and began to play her mother's lullaby with a quickened pace and was hoping the elephants would catch on before it was to late.

When she reached the last note of the lullaby she blew it loudly and the elephants raised their trunks up and joining her with loud trumpeting.

They held the note long and loud and their sound was affecting the creature as it was making cracks grow all over its stone body.

And seconds later the creature collapsed into rubble on the ground, never to re-form again.

When it was destroyed the elephants all stood, and Kit bore a victorious grin on her face.

"Lovely harmony, sis." Said Kat as he was coming up beside her.

When the creature was destroyed the spell wore off on the boulders he had used to trap the ThunderCats and quickly made their way out once they were able to.

They went back up to the village to join the elephants and the twins.

The next morning, the elephants got to work in picking up the rubble from the previous night to rebuild the homes that were lost and maybe some new ones.

As they worked, Adam spoke to Anet with the other ThunderCats listening off to the side.

"You see Adam, when you fail to look at the bigger picture, it becomes impossible to know the consequences of your actions." Said Anet.

"I guess it's no wonder why I'm struggling with sight beyond sight." Said Adam.

"Let's try it one more time." Said Anet.

Adam's hand held the War Stone.

"Ancient Power of the War Stone, give me Sight Beyond Sight." Said Adam.

The War Stone began to glow and giving Adam Sight Beyond Sight.

He saw the Spirit Stone, the small pinkish red stone that Mumm-Rana showed him once and could see it resting somewhere inside a hut just outside the meditation grounds.

When the vision dissipated Adam looked at them with wide eyes.

"The hut, the stone is in the hut!" Yelled Adam in surprise.

Everyone looked at Adam in surpris.

He dashed off towards the hut with everyone following him and were anxiously waiting for the stone to be found and absorbed.

As they ran Aburn noticed the commotion and went over to them wanting to know what was going on.

When they reached the door Adam yanked it open and dashed in.

He looked around the small hut with wide eyes when he saw it was completely empty except for a broom resting in a corner.

He walked back out of the hut looking at the others who waited for him.

"I don't understand." Said Adam, more to himself than the others.

"The War Stone showed me the Spirit Stone was in the hut." Said Adam to Anet.

"But I didn't see it." Said Adam as he looked back at the Hut.

"Perhaps a different approach is in order." Said Anet.

Adam looked up at him.

"Go to the forest of Magi Oar, one of the most enchanted places on all of Third Earth, there your powers will be amplified, and your connection with the War Stone." Said Anet.

"Where is this forest?" Asked Adam.

"Um." Said Anet as he looked over at Aburn

"Isn't it, uh." Said Anet as he tried to remember.

"I was just there." Said Aburn as he was also trying to remember.

He put his hand to his head and Anet rubbed his trunk as they both tried.

"Let me think." Said Anet.

Everyone else gave a collective sigh at their reactions.

Panthro reached up and dragged his hand down his face.

"Oh, brother." Said Panthro in frustration.

"Our memories are worse then those Black Rocks that came up a few weeks ago." Said Aburn.

This got Adam and Carter's attentions.

"Black what?" Asked Both Adam and Carter.

"Black Rocks, they sprouted from the ground a few weeks ago, you can see them behind the hut." Said Anet as he pointed the hut.

Adam and Carter ran to the back of the hut with the others behind them.

They indeed saw the Black Rocks like the ones the found where the found the War Stone.

"They're here to?" Asked Carter he examined them closer.

Suddenly the Black Rocks suddenly glowed blue as the War Stone began to glow as well as Adam's hair turning red.

Everyone took notice of this.

"Interesting, the rocks seems to have a connection to you or to be more precise the Power Stone you hold." Said Anet as he came over.

Now this made Adam confused, why were the Power Stones connected to the Black Rocks and for what purpose?


	16. The Forest of Magi Oar

After finally getting directions from the elephants they found the Forest of Magi Oar.

"Ancient Power of the War Stone, give me Sight Beyond Sight!" Yelled Adam as held the War Stone.

He got the same vision as the last time and was still seeing the Spirit Stone in the elephant's hut.

Adam sighed once the vision dissipated and walked back to where everyone else was setting up camp for the night in the forest of Magi Oar.

The trees were as large as any forest and it was an incredible place.

As Tygra grabbed some blankets out of the tank he looked over at Adam as he walked past him.

"Anything?" Asked Tygra.

"I don't understand why the elephants sent us here." Replied Adam.

"The Book says the stone is in their village and the War Stone does too." Said Adam.

"Maybe you're not seeing the forest for the trees, Adam." Said Cheetara as she threw a tarp over a branch for a tent.

She turned to face him fully.

"We may not be able to see why yet, but coming here might be the key to locating the stone there." Said Cheetara.

"She's right." Said Tygra in agreement.

"You don't have to be a cleric to feel the forest's magic." Said Tygra as he looked over the Forest.

Cheetara walked over to one of the trees placing her palm against the bark.

"There's something else here, too, a cheerless and gloomy presence, it's like the forest is inhabited by-" Said Cheetara before being cut off.

"Ghosts?!" Yelled both Kat and Kit excitedly with huge grins on their faces.

They reached over and pulled the tarp over themselves and raising up their arms and making scaring noises as they walked around and often bumping their heads once because they couldn't see where they were going.

"Spirits." Said Cheerara as she was watching as they walked around.

"Ghosts, spirits, souls, I don't care what you call them, they all give me the willies!" Yelled Panthro as he was looking around the forest.

Kat and Kit were still pretending to be ghosts and kept making cliché moaning sounds as they advanced on Snarf who mewed fearfully.

The twin kittens still advanced on the small creature.

Panthro scowled when he saw them and walked over.

"You two!" Yelled Panthro.

The twins looked back at him.

"Go get some firewood." Ordered Panthro.

"Why do we have to?" Asked Kat as he groaned unhappily.

"Because you're smaller than me you're younger than me and you're not good for much else!" Yelled Panthro.

"Ugh, fine!" Yelled Kit as she groaned in annoyance.

She and her brother shed the tarp and went to go look for firewood.

"Come on Snarf, maybe we'll see a ghost!" Yelled Kit as Snarf followed them into woods.

The twins and Snarf walking in front of them.

"Whatever you do, Snarf, stay close." Said Kat in a deep voice.

Snarf mewed worriedly as he was looking around at the trees that loomed over them.

He then noticed the twins weren't around and mewed unhapiliy.

Snarf trying to be brave, moved to keep on going without the twins.

He jumped when he heard the sound of a twig snapping but Snarf kept walking, his four, stubby legs shaking as he walked.

Another twig snapped and it was much more loudly than last time and Snarf was so startled by it he started to run away.

"Boo!" Shouted familer voices and it made Snarf jump to attention from where it was and Snarf to jump up high in the air and scrambling to find protection.

Kat and Kit laughed loudly at Snarf's reaction.

"What a scaredy Snarf!" Yelled Kit as she continued to laugh.

Snarf looked at the two and seeing that he was no longer in danger began to give a little laugh of his own.

Soon enough everyone decided to share a tent for the night while the others made their own places to sleep. Adam and Carter were on watch for the first half of the night.

They looked over at where Panthro was and was snoring loudly.

It was a surprise no one else had woken up from it.

"He sounds like the ThunderTank." Said Carter with a smirk.

Adam let out a small laugh.

"My Dad used to snore like that when we had sleepovers, remember?" Asked Carter as he remembered the good times.

"How could I forget?" Asked Adam.

"It's one of the few things you and Korra inherited from him." Said Adam with a smirk.

Carter gave Adam a friendly punch in the shoulder for that while hiding a smirk.

Adam then frowned as he looked at Carter.

"What is it?" Asked Carter as he noticed the look on Adam's face.

"Do you think i'm doing a good job as Lord of Third Earth?" Asked Adam.

Carter frowned as well as he was glancing away for a moment.

"Why do you ask that?" Asked Carter.

Adam looked away from him.

"I just think that maybe it chose the wrong person, no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to master Sight Beyond Sight, and this prophecy we found in Thundera says there are two rulers but why am I the only with a sword and gauntlet and what's with those names Adira mentioned to us, White Wizard and Avatar, what that's suppose to mean?" Asked Adam.

"Okay one question at a time and besides you just need to believe in yourself." Said Carter as he pointed towards Cheetara's sleeping form.

"She seems to." Said Carter.

Adam looked back at Cheetara before looking back at the fire and noticed it was going out and reached over and picked up some more firewood to keep the fire going.

But when they were thrown in the fire suddenly turned into a bright blue colour with grey smoke billowing up from it.

The blue light began to take form turning into huge wispy blue creatures with glowing eyes and mask-like faces as if they were some type of creature in a former life.

They let out shrill cries that woke up everyone else and they all jumped to attention, ready to attack.

"Ghost!" Yelled both Kat and Kit when they saw the creature.

"And they're coming from the wood!" Yelled Cheetara as she was looking at them.

Tygra pulled out his gun and started shooting at the spirit but the blasts were useless because they went right through it.

The ghost let out another shrill cry as it disappeared then reappeared behind Tygra.

He quickly jumped back from them and joined where everyone was grouping.

Cheetara leaped up the trees and pulled out her staff and spinning it expertly planning to knock each of the ghosts on their heads but the staff phased through each of them and doing nothing.

She backed into the group and began looking around as the ghosts seemed to multiply completely surrounding them as they let out their shrill cries.

"Always say, the problem with ghosts is you can't punch 'em in the face!" Yelled Panthro as he held out his weapons but was unsure of what to do with them as he knew it wouldn't work.

"Don't worry." Said Adam.

"I've got something that never fails." Said Adam as he pulled out his sword and held it up high.

"ThunderCats Ho!" Yelled Adam but the sword did nothing and everyone was surprised.

"Until now." Said Adam as he no idea why the sword did nothing.

The ghosts flew over their heads and were continuing their loud shrieks.

Everyone looked up when among the blue, ethereal glows there was a bright yellow one almost like a candle floating in the sky.

"Be gone evil spirits!" Yelled out a voice.

Everyone saw a man standing on a tree branch holding a piece of paper with a glowing inscription written on it.

"Or face the wrath of the Wood Forgers!" Yelled the man.

The ghosts shrieked again and started heading towards the man and were ready to attack.

The man was calm as he called out.

"Snips, scatter these spirits to the winds!" Yelled the man.

A rather hefty man who appeared to be flying pulled out a huge barrage of paper windmills that floated in mid-air.

They spun quickly and the ghosts were sent back by the powerful gust of wind.

"Gami, fold them a nightmare so they can see what fear really is." Said the man.

A young woman came up, carefully folding up a piece of paper and throwing it to the ground, to have it transform into a huge paper dragon that used a fiery breath to blow away the spirits that came towards it.

The man who was leading the two jumped down from the branch and was holding a blank piece of paper.

"And with a mere stroke of my brush, your frenzy is put to rest!" Yelled the man as he tossed the paper up and pulled out a large paintbrush.

When the paper came in front of him again he quickly drew a vase.

The paper was suspended as he held out his hands and the vase drawing glowed and an extremely powerful whirlwind coming from it that sucked in all the remaining spirits and was filling the two-dimensional vase with a grey liquid.

Once the magic was done the place was silent and everyone stared at the newcomers with wide eyes.

"Did they just defeat them with paper?" Asked Tygra in surprise.

"Nun-chucks are a weapon, swords are a weapon, paper isn't any kind of weapon." Said Panthro in disbelief.

Adam smiled at the group as he was grateful for their help and walked over to go and thank them as Kat and Kit broke from the group to go and look up at them with stars in their eyes.

"That Was Amazing!" Yelled Kit as she praised the leader.

"And just in time." Said Adam as he was walking up to him.

"I am Adam Ordeis, Lord of Third Earth." Said Adam.

"Welcome to the Magi Oar forest, Adam." Said the leader.

"We are the Wood Forgers." Said the leader as he tossed a sheet of paper into the air and it glowed like a lantern.

Soon others began to glow and leading them in a glowing-paper trail to somewhere else.

"Quickly now, it's not safe here." Said the leader as he began walking towards the direction.

They all followed the Wood Forgers as they led them away from their campsite.

"By the way, I am Zig." Said Zig.

"A pleasure." Said Cheetara.

"We're Kat and Kit!" Yelled Kat.

The twins ran up to Zig and were looking at him in awe.

"We're the ThunderCats!" Yelled Kit.

"Yes, I have heard that you have a leader that's not of your kind, what are your names?" Asked Zig.

"Like I said Adam Ordies, it's nice to meet you." Said Adam.

"Carter Vamir." Said Carter as he looked at Zig.

"Welcome to you, Adam and Carter." Said Zig.

"It's an honour to have you visit our forest." Said Zig.

Their attention was drawn away when they looked ahead of them and saw the end of their paper path.

It was a huge building seeming to be made entirely of paper sheets.

"This is the School of Paper Arts, and I am its headmaster." Said Zig.

Everyone followed him into the building as he began to explain the school to them.

"Tasked with training our students in the various disciplines of wood forging, in order to carry out our mission to protect all in need." Said Zig.

Adam looked around the buildings with awe as they went through a hallway into a courtyard.

"Magi Oar is an enchanted forest, whose power we harness through paper, in order to protect it." Said Zig.

"Protect it from whom?" Asked Cheetara in curiosity as to why anyone would attack a school.

Zig stopped walking and pulled out a piece of paper and was drawing a small bird-like creature on it.

"Viragor." Said Zig.

The bird flew off the page and began to fly around them.

"A monster known to swallow men whole, and snatch children in the night." Said Zig.

"He doesn't look so tough." Said Panthro as he watched the glowing bird fly around their heads.

"I don't think he's been drawn to scale." Said Adam to him.

The Viragor bird flew over to Zig who made the drawing disappear.

"He seeks to drive us from the forest, so he might use its power for his own, evil intent." Said Zig.

Zig then continued to speak.

"Not long ago, it looked like he might do just that, until we built this paper mill!" Yelled Zig as he gestured a small building adjoining the school with a large smokestack billowing up from it.

He gestured for them to follow him as he toured them through it.

"Once it took an entire day for a Wood Forger to produce a single sheet by hand." Said Zig as they walked through the mill.

"This mill can produce thousands in the same time." Said Zig as he showed them the process of wood turning to paper.

"Can the forest sustain such loss?" Asked Cheetara.

"The forest is big, and only through its lumber can we protect it from Viragor." Replied Zig.

After a lengthy tour of the school.

Zig offered them shelter for the night before they set off to do whatever it is they were supposed to do in the morning.

Adam and Carter were standing out in a balcony and looked at the night sky.

"Tell me, Adam." Said A voice from behind them.

They looked back to see Zig.

"What brings you so deep into these woods?" Asked Zig.

"I was sent here to learn to 'see'." Said Adam as it was hard to explain his power.

"Then you should know 'seeing' is about perspective." Said Zig.

He tossed up a large group of papers and had them be suspended before Adam and Carter.

"What do you see?" Asked Zig.

"Doesn't look like anything." Replied Adam as he got a hard look.

"Not from here." Said Zig and with a wave of his hand the papers began to move a little farther away and grouped together creating a familiar face.

"Huh, it's me." Said Adam with a smile when he saw the picture.

"While details are important, it is only when you step back that the entire picture comes into view." Said Zig.

"No wonder you're the headmaster." Said Adam.

A loud screech caught their attention.

Immediately Zig turned around and was glaring at the sky.

"He's here." Said Zig.

"Who?" Asked Carter.

"Viragor." Replied Zig.

Soon everyone ran out to the courtyard and they saw a huge, bird-like creature circling the school.

"Get out of my forest!" Yelled the bird as his deep voice boomed.

He flew over to one of the towers and with a powerful thrust from his clawed feet and knocked it down.

The papers it was made from scattering everywhere.

"I will not let you terrorize us another day, beast!" Yelled Zig.

He took a special martial-arts pose and covered his arms with paper sheets and making it look like sleeves.

Gami and Snips doing the same thing.

"Wood Forgers, attack!" Yelled Zig.

Snips was the first to strike as he was taking some sheets of paper and using a small pair of scissors to cut up strings of paper snowflakes to use as sharp six-pointed projectiles against the large bird who was able to avoid most but not all of them.

Gami folded up a piece of paper and tossed it into the air and having it turn into a flaming paper phoenix.

Viragor only flapped his huge wings to get the creature to turn into flaming sheets of paper and blow back the Wood Forgers.

"You forget, i'll always be stronger than, you Zig, I don't need paper to harness this forest's magic!" Yelled Viragor.

Adam glared up at the bird as he and the other ThunderCats stepped into the courtyard.

"They helped us, time to return the favour." Said Adam as he was pulling out his sword and holding it up high.

"Ho!" Yelled Adam but still the sword didn't move for him and he glared at it.

"Come on!" Yelled Adam.

He looked up when he heard Viragor screech and saw that he was coming towards him and his mouth open as he was ready to eat him.

He flinched reflexively as he got closer but the bird didn't get the chance to swallow him as something came dashing in front of Adam.

"Sorry, he's not on the menu!" Yelled Cheetara as she stuck her staff in between the bird's beak.

Adam looked up as Viragor continued to fly around with her keeping his mouth open with her staff.

"Maybe the sword's changed its mind about you." Said Tygra with a smirk as he ran to go and help Cheetara as did Panthro and Carter.

Cheetara kept holding the bird's beak open with her staff but it was slowly bending under the pressure of Viragor's mouth.

"Don't break on me now!" Yelled Cheetara just before her staff snapped and just as Viragor was about to snap his beak down on her something wrapped itself around Cheetara's waist and yanked her from the bird.

She begins to fall.

"I love that staff!" Yelled Cheetara.

Tygra who had used his whip to pull her away from Viragor easily caught her in his arms before she could hit the ground.

He gave her a winning smile and she looked at him with slightly dazed and wide eyes.

Adam looked up as he saw Viragor circling over the paper mill.

"If we lose the mill, we lose everything." Said Zig.

"Don't worry." Said Adam as he looked up at the bird.

"He's about to be grounded." Said Adam as he aimed his gauntlet at the bird and the claws shoot out and wrap around his clawed ankle.

As the lines between the claws of the gauntlet and the bird grew longer Adam began to realize there was a limit to the lines.

"Maybe this is a bad ide!-" Yelled Adam as he was suddenly yanked up into the air as Viragor flew away from the school.

"Adam!" Yelled Carter as he flew further and further away.

Adam pressed a switch that reeled him in closer to Viragor.

When he tried to move, Viragor caught him in his claws and held him there.

Soon enough Adam able to crashed to the ground with Viragor.

He stood up after that landing but jumped back when he saw Viragor heading towards him and he dashed out of the way so the bird would chomp at a tree instead.

He glared up at the large bird as he pulled his sword from his gauntlet.

"Eye of Thundera, spirit of Jaga, Sword of Omens, do not fail me now!" Yelled Adam.

He swung his sword once.

"Thunder." Said Adam as he swung it again.

"Thunder!" Yelled Adam as he swung it a third time.

"Thunder!" Yelled Adam as He held his sword up high.

"ThunderCats Ho!" Yelled Adam but again still, the sword did nothing.

Adam looked at it with wide eyes.

He looked up just in time to see Viragor charging at him and knock him down.

He glared at his sword.

"Why aren't you working?" Asked Adam.

"What am I not seeing?" Asked Adam and then his eyes widened as he realized the answer.

"The big picture, that's what." Said Adam as he stood up and sheathed his sword.

Adam threw away his gauntlet as Viragor rounded towards them.

"Probably another bad idea." Said Adam to himself.

Soon enough Adam was once again a captive in Viragor's claws as he was flying high above the forest.

He looked over at Viragor.

"You're going to eat me, aren't you?" Asked Adam.

Viragor glanced at the human in his claws and then turned his sight back to what was in front of him.

"Thinking about it." Replied Viragor.

Meanwhile everyone gathered around the school wondering about Adam's fate.

"It is only through Lion-O's sacrifice was the school saved, i'm afraid there's no way he could survive his encounter with Viragor." Said Zig with regret in his voice.

"Don't you worry about Adam, he'll be fine, he can take care of himself." Said Carter as he and the others walked away from the Wood Forgers.

Adam was still trapped in Viragor's claws, flying over the forest.

"You're getting heavy, bug!" Yelled Viragor suddenly.

"Mind if I drop you off here?" Asked Viragor.

"You won't, because you're not evil, are you?" Asked Adam Leanne with a quirked eyebrow.

The bird looked down at him as they flew.

"Have you not been paying attention?" Asked Viragor.

Adam turned his gaze away ashamedly as he recalled everything that had happened.

"The Sword of Omens wouldn't work against you or the spirits." Said Adam.

"I thought it was me, but it's because the sword and the Stone can't be used against a force of good." Said Adam as he looked up at Viragor.

"Interesting theory." Said Viragor.

"Willing to risk your lives for it?" Asked Viragor.

"I am." Said Adam firmly.

Viragor stared at Adam for a moment and after seeing the determination in his eyes.

"Let me show you something." Said Viragor as he turned his eyes in front of him and altered his course slightly.

"The Magi Oar is an ancient forest, one I've cared for, for centuries." Said Viraogr.

"I thought that was the Wood Forger's job?" Asked Adam in confusion.

"They sure give that impression, don't they?" Asked/Replied Viragor.

"No, they're merely guests, and they've outworn their welcome, i allowed them into the forest because I believe in their mission." Said Viragor.

"But Zig wanted more power." Said Viragor.

He flew over an area where hundreds of trees had been chopped down and an entire area of the forest had been stripped clean of any trees.

"And more power means more paper." Said Viragor as he released Adam and landed beside hom and looking out at the mass of missing trees.

"So he built the mill, once they were content with fallen timber, now they strip my forest, don't they understand, these trees are alive, that mill must be destroyed!" Yelled Viragor in anger.

"I'll help you." Said Adam.

Riding on his back Adam was brought back to the Wood Forger's school.

As they moved closer he saw Zig come out.

"The beast returns!" Yelled Zig.

"Wood Forgers, ready yourselves!" Yelled Zig as they prepared to attack.

Cheetara ran out in front of them.

"Wait, Adam's with him!" Yelled Cheetara as she stopped them.

Viragor landed before them and the Wood Forgers were tense as he did and Adam jumped down from the bird.

"You haven't been telling us the whole story, have you, Zig?" Asked Adam.

"What is the meaning of this, Adam?" Asked Zig.

Adam turned to the others.

"Viragor's no monster." Said Adam.

"He did break my staff." Said Cheetara as she crossed her arms across her chest angrily.

"Sorry about that." Said Viragor.

"Viragor's the real protector of this forest, not you!" Yelled Adam.

Zig dashed forward towards him.

"Is your vision so misguided, you've taken up his cause?" Asked Zig angrily.

"You're one to talk about misguided vision." Said Viragor as he was glaring at Zig.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Zig." Said Adam,

"Your school can exist in harmony with the forest!" Yelled Adam.

Zig shook his head in disagreement.

"Some must suffer for the greater good, Adam." Said Zig.

"And who decides what the greater good is?!" Asked Adam in anger.

"You still can't see the big picture, can you?" Asked Zig as Gami and Snips came by his sides and ready to fight.

The ThunderCats came up beside Adam, showing that they were ready to do the same.

"I think I'm finally starting to." Said Adam.

"You have failed to learn your lesson, so I must try a stricter approach." Said Zig.

He pulled out a huge scroll that opened up on his back and attached more paper to it making it larger, like a pair of wings and jumped up into the air.

"Wood Forgers, attack!" Yelled Zig.

Adam jumped back up onto Viragor took off into the air after Zig.

Gami pulled out a long sheet of paper and tossed it up and it was transforming it into a fearsome dragon.

Tygra ran at it and by using his whip to make himself invisible so Gami wouldn't be able to attack him easily.

When he reappeared in the air he pulled out his gun to fire at the paper beast.

The dragon roared and breathed out a fiery blast at him.

Tygra fired at it once and missed.

As he got closer he used his whip against the dragon on a couple strikes but only for the dragon to grab onto the whip before he landed and use it to throw him high into the air and land roughly on the ground.

Meanwhile Panthro had grabbed Snips by the straps of his clothing and was spinning him around and throwing him like a hammer throw.

When Snips was in the air he used some of the snowflake stars he had made before and fired them off at Panthro.

He did his best to deflect the projectiles with his nun-chucks but they were knocked out of his hand.

Cheetara came after him using her speed to get an advantage on him.

Snips pulled out his paper windmills and began to blow huge gusts of wind at Cheetara which she easily avoided and eventually jumped right over his head.

When she landed, he immediately had a paper cage put over her, trapping her.

She glared up at her paper confines.

"I really miss my staff." Said Cheetara as she growled in frustration.

"Good thing I still have my fling!" Yelled out a voice.

Snips turned to where Kat had pulled out some very thin yet very strong string. 

He went to go and stop him and jumped back when he saw the gleam of one of the thin stings in the light of the moon. 

He jumped when he saw another gleam and before he knew it he was tied up tightly in the string and fell to the ground. 

Kit went over to him and pulled out the notebook that was attached to his chest giving her brother a high-five at his success before realising Cheetara.

Gami was looking over the fight with Tygra and the paper dragon as Cheetara ran by Gami and took her notebook.

She looked at her with wide eyes as she held the book up high.

"Not so tough without your notebook, are you?" Asked Cheetara.

She threw it up into the air and Tygra shot it with his gun.

Only a moment later did the paper dragon explode with it's magic no longer able to hold the paper together.

Everyone cheered but they knew it was too soon to celebrate because, somewhere over the forest Zig was still flying away from Adam and Viragor.

Suddenly he turned around and the pages in his notebook flipping rapidly as paper projectiles shot out like missiles towards them. 

Viragor was able to avoid the brunt of the attack. 

Adam blocked away any paper that was coming towards them using his sword. 

This kept up until one of them hit Viragor directly. 

He screeched out in pain and came crashing to the ground of the forest and going down with Adam.

Zig came to where they landed and was smiling when he saw that Viragor had been knocked unconscious. 

"The mighty Viragor, broken and defenceless!" Yelled Zig.

"Not completely defenceless." Said Adam as he pushed up the wing he had been trapped under. 

He glared at Zig as he stood up.

"You see, my sword seems to be working again." Said Adam with a smirk.

Zig tensed up as he was knowing the power that lay in the Sword of Omens. 

Adam pulled the blade from his gauntlet.

"It's time for you to start seeing things in a new light, Zig!" Yelled Adam as he swung his sword once and lengthening it.

He held the sword in front of him and the Eye of Thundera as well as the War Stone beginning to glow.

"ThunderCats Ho!" Yelled Adam.

A bright red beam shot out from the sword and it directly hit the notebook Zig had at his chest. 

The power of it destroyed the notebook and all the paper that Zig had disintegrated. 

Viragor finally having regained consciousness saw this and walked over to Zig's fallen form and towering over him.

"You are no longer headmaster of this school." Said Viragor.

"I am." Said Viragor.

Zig ran off into the forest, never to be seen again.

The next morning they met up with Viragor at the place where the trees had been cut.

"I owe you my thanks, ThunderCats." Said Viragor.

He reached out with his wing and they heard the sound of something hitting the ground. 

When he pulled his wing away to reveal a new staff to lay there for Cheetara.

"A gift, from the oldest tree in this forest, it's alive with great magic." Said Viragor.

Cheetara stepped forward and picked up her new staff with a smile.

"I accept it with great humility." Said Cheetara.

Tygra went over to Adam.

"Why don't you put what you learned to good use?" Asked Tygra.

Adam nodded and held the War Stone in his chest.

"Ancient Power of the War Stone, give me Sight Beyond Sight." Said Adam.

It glowed as Adam's eyes and hair turned red.

He saw the hut at the elephant's village and inside it was the stone but there was something more this time. 

He could see that the stone was hidden by a small wall unseen to the naked eye and understood what he needed to do. 

When the vision ended Adam turned to the others with a confident smile.

"Let's go get that stone." Said Adam.


	17. Into the Astral Plane

The next day everyone was riding in the ThunderTank and speeding off to the elephant village.

Adam and Carter had their head stuck out of the top of the tank.

While Tygra sat in the seat beside Panthro and with Cheetara sitting in between them.

Adam had just finished explaining the vision he had seen about the Spirit Stone.

"So, the stone's been in that blasted hut all along?" Asked Panthro.

"Not exactly." Said Adam.

"It's in the Astral Plane." Said Adam.

"And where on Third Earth are the Astral Planes?!" Asked Panthro in frustration.

"It isn't on Third Earth at all, the Astral Plane is a spirit realm, the hut is just a gateway in." Said Cheetara as she tried to explain.

But unfortunately Panthro still didn't get it.

"Is it in the village or isn't it?!" Yelled Panthro in anger.

"It is and it isn't." Replied Tygra.

Panthro let out a low growl in frustration.

Adam looked at the War Stone.

"It took a while, but I think I finally got the hang of this thing." Said Adam.

Carter smiled at him.

"I knew you would." Said Carter.

"There was a reason the sword and the War Stone chose you." Said Cheetara as she looked up, smiling at him.

Tygra scowled as he saw Cheetara smiling at Adam.

"And just like the sword, one more thing you don't deserve." Said Tygra as he muttered under his breath knowing no one had heard him.

Kit swung back and forth on a small shelf in the tank with her brother next to her and Snarf on her other side.

"I'm excited we're going back to the elephant village." Said Kit.

"I can't wait to see Aburn!" Yelled Kit in excitement.

"Like he'll even remember you." Said Kat with a grin.

"What's so great about that place, anyways?" Asked Kat in curiosity.

Kit dropped down from the shelf to sit next to her brother.

"I guess it just feels like home." Said Kit as she didn't know how to explain it.

Kat scowled and reached into his backpack and pulling out the scroll of the illustration of El Dara the city of treasure.

"We'll be home when we get to El Dara." Said Kat in determination.

Suddenly the tank jerked to a stop and everyone heard Panthro yell.

"By Thundera!" Yelled Panthro

"The elephant village!" Yelled Cheetara.

Adam and Carter saw huge black smoke stacks coming from where the village was.

Kat and Kit went up to them.

"What happened?" Asked Kit when she saw it.

Adam held out his hand to the War Stone.

"Ancient Power of the War Stone, give me Sight Beyond Sight." Said Adam.

The Stone began to glow as a vision filled his sight.

He saw the entire village where all of the elephants had been taken captive by lizard soldiers who had them all rounded up in the village square with weapons pointed at them to be making sure they didn't move.

He also saw Grune going into the hut with a confident smirk on his face.

It was there that the vision ended but that was all he needed to see to know what had happened.

"We're too late!" Yelled Adam.

"The lizards have found the hut!" Yelled Adam.

"Panthro, take the tank a little bit away from the village, we can't risk the lizards spotting us." Said Adam.

Panthro nodded and turned the tank and going over to a large plain at the base of the huge almost mountain where the elephants lived.

When Grune entered the hut, he shouted aloud at what he saw.

The hut was practically empty except for a broom resting in a corner.

He growled in fury as he grabbed it and stalked back over to where they held the elephants captive.

The lizards all moved out of his way as they did not want to be on the receiving end of the saber tooth's fury.

"You leather-eared pacifists said the Stone would be here!" Yelled Grune in anger.

"Said what would be where?" Asked Aburn.

Grune's fury only grew.

"That fabled elephant memory." Said Grune as he growled.

He turned to where a small figure rested against one of the lizard's huge battle robots.

"Andrea, over here!" Yelled Grune.

A human teenage woman with black hair with black clothing with a jacket and jeans and with lips ruby as red who looked to be 16 or 17 walked to the saber tooth who had called her name.

"The only thing in that hut was this broom!" Yelled Grune as he waved the broom to the elephants.

"The broom, we've been looking for that." Said Anet as he was pointing at the broom.

Grune growled as he snapped the broom in two with his claw.

He held out his claw to them.

"Give me what I came for or i'll use Andrea's powers to see through your minds!" Yelled Grune.

"And that would be?" Asked Anet.

"THE STONE!" Yelled Grune.

"Oh, that, have you checked the hut?" Asked Anet again.

Grune growled in frustration.

"Perhaps you need a reminder of the stone's importance!" Yelled Grune as he picked up his spiked bludgeoner as it was powering it up and firing off a green lightning bolt at a tree growing at the cliff.

"Now was that really necessary, sugar?" Asked Andrea with a sassy Southern accent. A/N: If you see Rogue from X-Men The Animated Series that should help understand better.

"Anything to say now?" Asked Grune to the elephants with a smirk.

"Why, yes, thank you." Said Anet unexpectedly.

"Excuse me?!" Asked/Yelled Grune in surprise.

"You've really opened up the view!" Yelled Anet as he was smiling at where the tree had been.

"And our garden will get more sunlight, too." Said Aburn.

Andrea let out a snort of laughter as the elephants all agreed with them.

Grune slammed his weapon down on the ground in anger.

"You have until the third moon rise to remember, then, I start calling the herd!" Yelled Grune as he pointed tot he sky to show the first moon had risen.

Andrea rolled her eyes over how dramatic he was.

Panthro looked through a scope at the lizards waiting for them at the village.

He growled when he saw the all-too-familiar saber tooth.

"Grune." Said Panthro in anger.

Both Adam and Carter groaned as they hoped that wouldn't see the saber tooth again after their last encounter.

Panthro's brow furrowed as he saw Grune speaking to a person whose face he couldn't see was dressed in a black hoodie and jeans.

She turned her head away from Grune with a haughty expression and infuriating him.

When she turned her head Panthro was able to see that she was human.

"I think another one of your kind is there too." Said Panthro as he handed Adam the scope.

He looked at him in surprise and took the scope looking through it to see a human woman who was speaking to Grune.

"I've never seen her before." Said Adam as he handed the scope back to Panthro who clipped it to his belt for use later.

"We need to go about this delicately, he's got hostages." Said Adam.

"Aburn?" Asked Kit quietly as she was looking concernedly at the village.

"What are you thinking, Adam?" Asked Cheetara.

"Let's wait until nightfall, use stealth." Said Adam.

"Are you kidding?!" Yelled Tygra in anger.

"We can't waste time waiting for the right window, we should move in now, I say we take the tank, it's our only chance against their firepower." Said Tygra.

"Why do you have to challenge every command I make, Tygra?" Asked Adam in frustration.

"Because I was the one who actually studied military strategies, while you know nothing!" Yelled Tygra.

"The tank can't make it, besides I always considered stealth to be your biggest strength." Said Cheetara,

Tygra looked away.

"No wonder i've always been invisible to you." Said Tygra under his breath.

Everyone waited down in the plains for the sound of the evening bell, having made sure to hide the tank before doing so, to make sure they weren't caught.

The sun had almost completely fallen behind the sky as Third Earth's third moon began to rise.

"I just don't understand why Tygra fights me at every turn." Said Adam to Cheetara.

"Tigers are known for their pride." Said Cheetara as she was giving him a small smile.

"I hope that's what it is." Said Adam as he glanced back at where Tygra was.

He looked up when he heard the heavy ringing of the evening bell and his body tensed.

"It's time, let's move." Said Adam.

"Still think we need the tank." Said Tygra as they started sneaking towards the village.

"Will you let it go already, Tygra?" Asked Carter.

They were quiet as they headed up the mountain and being completely silent as they reached the entrance to the elephant's village which was surrounded by lizard guards.

Adam had it all planned it out and he had Snarf go towards them telling him to wait until they spotted him to run.

Snarf was going to be a little distraction for the guards to lure them away from the entrance so they could take them down without worrying about other lizards coming after them.

When they did spot the little creature he started dashing around their legs playfully and making sure to bring a pair of them over to where Panthro was.

When they came to him, he knocked their heads together hard enough to make them pass out and they attacked.

Adam pulled out his sword and taking out two lizards with each swing as he moved.

Carter made the earth beneath some of the lizards turn into very loose quicksand and making them sink into the ground.

Once they were up to their necks in the stuff he took away as much water as he could from the ground, making it harden and trapping them in the ground.

Tygra made himself invisible so as to get an advantage on the lizards for sneaking up from behind them and throwing them to the floor.

Cheetara took her staff and whirled it in the air expertly before slamming it in the ground, where roots like a trees started growing from the bottom of the staff, moving like bark-covered tentacles and wrapping around the legs of a few lizards, lifting them up in the air and throwing them back down on the ground.

As they worked to take out the rest of the guards, Kat and Kit started running up the stairs to the village to see if there was anything they could do to help the captured elephants.

When they reached the top, they looked with wide and disbelieving eyes at the sight of all the elephants trapped by the lizards.

In their entrapment, Anet glanced up at the sky and saw that the third moon had risen into the sky.

He looked back when he saw Grune approaching.

"The third moon is rising, are you ready to talk?" Asked Grune.

"I love a good discussion, any topic in particular?" Asked Anet.

Grune growled angrily as Andrea walked beside Grune and was looking at the elephants, wondering what he would do next.

"Very well, since you elephants have more than tried my patience, start with Aburn!" Commanded Grune.

Murmurs went through the crowd of elephants at the mention of his name.

One of the lizards went over to the Aburn and was using his gun to get him to move away from the crowd and he did so with hands raised in surrender.

"Aburn!" Yelled Kit.

"We have to do something!" Yelled Kit.

She jumped down from the wall that she and Kat had been sitting on just as everyone else came up and hid in the bushes from the lizards.

"Kit, wait!" Yelled Kat as he had to try and stop her but she kept going.

She ran up onto one of the elephant statues and went to the top of it.

"No one touches my friend!" Yelled Kit at the lizards, catching their attention.

"Hey, it's Kit!" Yelled Aburn happily.

"And look, you brought Ava and your friends!" Yelled Aburn.

Everyone looked to the bushes where Adam and the others were hiding.

"What do you know?" Asked Kat said with a smile,

"He does remember us." Said Kat.

Adam was the first to move from his hiding place and out of the bushes and everyone following suit.

Andrea's eyes immediately went to Adam and Carter.

They all prepared their weapons for the upcoming battle.

Grune pulled out his bludgeoner and pointing it at Aburn.

"Weapons on the ground, or the grass-eater gets it." Said Grune as he was powering it up.

Everyone tensed at his request.

"I assure you, I won't miss a target this big." Said Grune.

Adam grit his teeth angrily but did as he asked and threw his sword to the ground where it shrunk back to its smaller size and everyone put their weapons down.

Grune glanced at Panthro when he noticed he had yet to put down his nun-chucks.

"General." Said Grune as he raised his bludgeoner higher to make a point.

Panthro growled in the back of his throat.

"Traitor." Said Panthro as he threw the weapon down.

Andrea walked over to them.

"So I finally meet the White Wizard and the Avatar, never thought I see the day." Said Andrea.

Before they could ask Grune moved away from Aburn and going to where the Sword of Omens lay and picked it up.

"At last, the sword falls into worthy hands, of course, that's not what I came here for." Said Grune.

He pointed the small blade at Adam's throat.

"Where is the Spirit Stone?" Asked Grune.

Adam glanced at the sword and then smirked mischievously up at Grune.

"Have you checked the hut?" Asked Adam.

Grune's hand shook in fury as he held the sword.

He growled and was bringing his hand down.

"You may be prepared for your death, but are you prepared for theirs?!" Asked Grune towards the lizards.

The lizards powered up their weapons and were ready to fire.

Grune turned back to them as he was waiting for an answer.

"I don't know where it is." Replied Adam.

"And yet, you came back to the village." Said Grune as he turned and raised his hand.

"Wipe out the entire herd!" Commanded Grune.

The lizards all aimed their weapons at the elephants and the lizard bots aimed their guns at the heard and powering up their huge cannons.

The elephants all looked at them in fear.

"Wait, I'll tell you where it is." Said Adam as he knew Grune would kill them.

Grune accepted his answer and raised his bludgeoner into telling the lizards to stop.

"If you say it's in the hut!" Yelled Grune as he was hoping he didn't have to hear it again.

"It's not in the hut, it's through it, in the Astral Plane." Replied Adam.

Grune smirked as he finally had gotten the answer he wanted.

Soon they went to the hut.

The Lizards stood outside and were guarding it in case something went wrong.

When they walked inside Grune looked up at the huge wall of the hut.

"If the hut is just a doorway, then how do we open it?" Asked Grune as this was new to him.

"With a key." Replied Adam as he pointed to the Sword of Omens in Grune's grasp.

Grune looked at the sword with interest.

"And you know very well that i'm the only one who can use it." Said Adam.

Grune considered this for a moment and then looked back to Adam.

"Don't do anything foolish." Warned Grune and then tossed him his sword.

Adam took it and lengthened the blade.

He looked at the wall and was letting the sword show its power and sparks flying from the blade.

He ran at the wall and drove the sword through it.

A bright golden glow came from the sword and it was slowly growing larger on the wall.

The glow was so bright that the light flooded out of the doorway to the hut and was revealing itself to everyone outside.

"Incredible." Said Grune.

He ran towards the portal once it was big enough and pushed Adam aside and taking the Sword of Omens from him.

He turned to the doorway.

"Prepare a party to enter but first, kill them all!" Yelled Grune.

The lizards powered up their huge cannons again and were aiming for the elephants.

Out of nowhere familiar rockets shot up and onto the robots and exploding on impact and destroying them.

A huge metal claw shot up from the cliff side and was taking out one of the robots as it did and hooked into the ground and dragging on the ground until it safely secured itself on the cliff as more rockets came out and hit the ground as well as taking out a few lizard soldiers.

Another claw shot up and secured itself and everyone heard the familiar rumbling of the tank as it used the claws to help it to climb up the cliff and jump over it into the village with Adira at the wheel.

"Who is that?!" Asked/Yelled Cheetara.

"I don't know, but who said she could drive my tank?!" Asked Panthro.

Taking advantage of Grune's distraction about the tank Adam ran forward and swiped his sword from the saber tooth.

Adam headed outside the hut and was ready to fight off the lizards as Adam lengthened his sword, and Carter ran up to Andrea as he held out his palms and making two balls of fire appear.

Adam ran at the lizards, taking out as many as he could with one swing, and taking out the rest with another.

Carter headed and shot out his fire bolts which she dodged and made a magic sword out of nowhere.

They ran to each other to clash.

Meanwhile Tygra, Cheetara and Panthro had beaten their weapons away from the lizards.

Cheetara went straight for the robots and destroying each one as she used her speed to help her jump up higher on top of them.

Tygra began using his gun to destroy the weapons the Lizards had.

Panthro took out some of the foot soldiers.

Once they were out of the way Panthro turned to where Grune was.

"You're mine, Grune!" Yelled Panthro as he was eager to get his revenge on the former soldier.

"Stop him." Commanded Grune calmly.

They all charged at Panthro but each one as knocked out of the way.

"Drag myself out of a pit!" Yelled Panthro as he beat his way through the lizards.

"Nearly starve to death wandering the desert to get at you!" Yelled Panthro as he knocked out three lizards in one swing.

"You think a few lizards are going to keep you safe?!" sked Panthro.

Grune only backed away as the lizards kept coming to Panthro.

"I'm afraid this will have to wait for another day!" Yelled Grune.

"I can see when the odds are not in my favour, Andrea to me!" Yelled Grune.

Andrea ran off from her fight with Carter and followed Grune over the side of the cliff with the remaining lizard soldiers and all of them riding away on special bikes.

Panthro stood at the cliff side as he was glaring at their retreat, enraged the Grune escaped again.

Once the ThunderTank had stopped and Adira hopped out she was surrounded by Tygra, Cheetara and Panthro.

"Who are you?" Asked Panthro as he growled, not liking strangers riding his Tank.

"Is this how you show grattiued to someone's who saved your lives?" Asked Adira as she crossed her arms.

Adam and Carter went to them.

"Adira?" Asked both Adam and Carter.

"Ad-who?" Asked Panthro.

She walked past them like it was no big deal.

"I told you, i'd come help you under extreme trouble." Said Adira with a smirk.

The other ThunderCats looked at her, all wondering if she can be trusted.

Everyone as well as Aburn, Adira and Anet stood at the portal to the Astral Plane.

"Finding the stone will not be easy." Said Anet.

"The Astral Plane is unlike anything you have ever encountered, there thought itself is formed into reality." Said Anet.

Adam took a deep breath.

"Okay, I can do this." Said Adam.

"We're going with you." Said Tygra.

"This mission is too important for you to handle alone." Said Tygra.

Adam scowled.

"Thanks, but I don't need your help." Said Adam.

"Funny, because you were about ready to surrender the Stone to the lizards." Said Tygra as he snapped.

Adam glared at him and everyone looked uneasily between the two.

"I sense a negative energy between you two." Said Anet as he was looking at them.

"Yeah, ever since we first met." Said Tygra.

"Now let's go." Said Tygra.

However Adira's sword went into the front of their faces before they could move.

"I'm afraid you can't, Adam must go alone, he's the only one who can absorbed the Stone." Said Adira firmly.

"Even me?" Asked Carter as he and Adam did everything together.

"I'm afraid so, this is one time you can't come with him." Said Adira.

"Fine, off you go." Said Tygra as he held out his arms to the door.

Adam soon went through the Portal, alone.

Everyone was about to leave when they stopped by Anet's hand on his shoulder.

"Wait, there is something I must tell you." Said Abet.

Everyone looked up at him.

"I see something, a vision." Said Anet.

Everyone was waiting as Anet seemed to stare off into the distance as he was looking at his vision.

"Unless Adam finds the origins of the stones and his destiny in the Astral Plane, the powers he held will turn against him." Said Anet.

"But how's Adam supposed to that, and why would the powers he held turn against him if they wanted to be with him?" Asked Carter.

"Anet's visions are never wrong." Said Aburn.

"Never?" Asked Carter, now feeling nervous about Adam being in their alone.

Soon enough everyone left but no one noticed the strange crow with beady red eyes resting on the branch of a tree outside the hut.

"March toward your death, White Wizard!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as he hissed quietly through the beak.

"For in the Astral Plane, Mumm-Ra is all powerful!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as he jumped off the branch and swiftly flew into the portal Adam who had gone in.

No one seemed to hear the strange laugh that came out of the crow's beak.


	18. Secrets Of The Stones

Panthro looked out through a scope as he was surveying the huge armada that was approaching.

Hundreds of lizard soldiers with dozens of lizard robots.

There was one in particular that caught his attention.

It was a bit bigger than the other ones armed with a huge array of missiles and various other weapons and ready to fire on command.

He adjusted the scope's magnification and got a better look at where Grune and Andrea was.

He adjusted the scope to look at where Grune was eying the village with a greedy smile.

Panthro growled in the back of his throat and put the scope away.

He walked over to where the others were waiting outside the Astral Plane portal.

"Bad news, the entire village is surrounded." Said Panthro as he caught their attention.

"How many troops?" Asked Cheetara as she was wanting to know how many they would have to go up against.

"If I had to guess, I'd say all of them." Said Panthro.

Tygra looked up at Anet who was looking into the portal with eyes that betrayed his typical forgetful behaviour but instead showed a wise, aged elephant who wasn't happy about whatever oncoming peril would come from the portal.

"Considering how hopelessly outnumbered we are, maybe you guys could lend us a hand." Said Tygra.

"As always, we will seek to understand our role through meditation." Said Anet.

"I'll take that as a no." Said Panthro as he was going back to survey the soldiers waiting for them.

"I wonder what's keeping him." Said Carter concernedly as he was looking at the portal.

"Keeping who?" Asked Anet.

"Adam, remember?" Asked Kit.

"Ah, yes, of course." Said Anet as he just remembered.

"He went after the Spirit Stone, didn't he?" Asked Anet.

"I bet something went wrong." Said Kat as he was worried for his friend.

"I do sense a dark presence within." Said Anet as he was looking at the portal.

"But on the Astral Plane, he will face an even greater challenge." Said Anet.

"What's that?" Asked Cheetara.

"Himself." Said Anet.

"Unless Adam finds the orgins of the Stones as well as his destiny, the powers he held will turn against him." Said Anet.

Everyone looked at the portal in worry.

In the Astral Plane Adam couldn't stop staring at the vast expense of nothing he walked through.

It was as though he were walking through the sky on the clouds themselves but a solid surface of glass kept him from touching the clouds beneath him and although the clouds above seemed so close that you could touch them although he couldn't reach it.

As he kept walking the ground suddenly began to rumble and in the distance and he saw a tower on its side similar to the ones he had seen in Thundera before it had fallen coming up out of the nothingness.

A moment later a familiar giant panther statue came out of the ground was also tilted onto its side.

A second later even more statues from Thundera poked out of the ground.

Even a statue of King Claudus poked out of the ground underneath his feet lifting him up high as the area became filled with various monuments from Thundera.

"Okay this is beyond creepy." Said Adam to himself.

Adam took a breath.

"Just find the Spirit Stone and get out of here." Said Adam.

"The elephants say that if I can't see something then I'm not looking at the big picture." Said Adam as he tried to remember the advice he'd gotten.

"Of coruse that could mean that means it's right under my nose." Said Adam.

He jumped down from Claudus's statue and continued his search.

Adam didn't noticed the strange crow that was flying over him.

"Embrace your jealousy, your greed, your fears." Said Mumm-Ra through the beak.

"For in this world, I can make your darkest thoughts as real as flesh, here, you are nothing more than my puppet, and when you die, both stones will be mine." Said Mumm-Ra in determination.

Meanwhile Panthro kneeled down and placed an explosive on the ground.

He ran his finger across the surface as he was preparing it to blow whenever someone touched it.

They may have been grossly outnumbered by the lizards but this trap he was laying down would surely do some damage.

With him, Kat and Kit were looking through his scope at the lizard army.

"Look at Grune the snaggletooth just sitting out there." Said Kat as he grinned at his sister.

"I bet he's scared!" Said Kat as Kit grinned with him.

"Ever hear how he lost his tooth?" Asked Panthro as he looked at the twins.

They both looked back at him and shaking their heads.

He got up from where he had been kneeling and went over to them looking over the cliff at the waiting army as he spoke.

"It was during the Lizard War, Grune and I had busted out of a prison camp and were on the run, with no food, no weapons, and an army after us, we hid in a cave, as it turned out, it wasn't empty." Said Panthro.

He looked down at the kittens.

"It was Spidera's nest." Said Panthro.

"S-Spidera?" Said Kat nervously.

"I-I thought Spidera was just a myth." Said Kat.

"So did we." Replied Panthro.

"Next thing we knew, that beast had us backed into a corner, fangs dripping with venom." Said Panthro as he remembered the events of that day.

"What did you do?" Asked Kat.

"Me, once she had me in her web, I prepared for the end." Said Panthro.

"But Grune, he ripped out his own saber tooth." Said Panthro.

"Ugh why?" Asked Kit.

"Because he knew that beast only had one weak spot." Said Panthro as he pointed to his eye.

"Her eyes were her greated weakness, Grune used his tooth and jammed it right into that monster." Said Panthro.

The kittens gasped.

"Afterwards, Grune said something I never forgot." Asked Panthro as he closed his eyes as he remembered his words.

"'Any sacrifice is worth the defeat of your enemy.'" Repeated Panthro.

Panthro looked at the kittens.

"You really think he's scared?" Asked Panthro.

Adam still kept looking for the Spirit Stone but to no avail.

Suddenly the entire Astral Planes went completely dark with stars around him as though he was in space.

He looked down at his chest and saw the War Stone was glowing.

What are you showing me? Thought Adam.

Even Mumm-Ra was curious to what was going on and decided not to interfere.

Suddenly Adam saw what appeared to be flash of light which created six beams of lights with different colours.

One was red, one was pink, one was green, one was light blue, one was yellow and the last one was dark blue and it looked like they landed on a planet that to Adam looked like was Earth.

He saw that the beams landed on Stones on that planet and infusing them with their powers.

They soon transformed into what Adam assumed were the Power Stones, he recognized the first four but did not know what the last two were.

Adam decided to keep on watching to see what else the Stone was showing him.

Andrea sat on the foot of one of the robotic lizards as the army waited outside the elephant village.

Next to her stood Slithe as he was waiting for something from the village.

Andrea getting a little stir-crazy and was growing tired of sitting there and doing nothing.

Grune seemed to be the same way as he went over to where Slithe was.

"Why do we continue to wait when we could crush them in a breath?!" Asked/Yelled Grune.

"Yeah, i'm getting tired of doing nothing, are you worried about the elephants going to fight us?" Asked Andrea as she stood up.

"Of course not." Said Slithe.

"The elephants never fight." Said Slithe.

"Then why aren't we launching an attack?" Asked Andrea.

"Mumm-Ra's orders." Said Slithe.

"If we attack now we risk destroying the portal to the Astral Plane, trapping him inside forever." Said Slithe as he explained.

"Tell me, Slithe, would that really be such a bad thing?" Asked Grune with a smirk on his face.

"Mumm-Ra is our master!" Yelled Slithe.

"He controls the largest army on Third Earth, and wields more power than you could even dream of!" Yelled Slithe in fear as he knew he was not a fool of Mumm-Ra's powers.

"You would dare betray him?!" Asked Slithe in surpise.

Grune smirked evilly, letting that be his awnser.

"Do you really want to be a servant of that thing and make your people slaves?" Asked Andrea as she had no idea what Mumm-Ra was supposed to be.

Slithe looked between the two of them before sharing his own smirk.

"You know for a cat and a human, you are both quite the snakes." Said Slithe.

Adam was then seeing into what appeared to be a building of sort and saw a man with a long dark hooded cloak and a metal mask that covers half of the face, a device of sorts and an ordinary monkey on his shoulder in a snow storm.

"Zhan Tiri!" Yelled the man much to Adam's surprise.

He looked back and saw a woman with white pale skin with long grey hair and buns on the top of her hair and a pendant crown like object on her forehead and was wearing a grey dress with a black gown underneath, snarling at the man.

"This is your last warning, give up this foolish quest for power!" Yelled the man.

Zhan Tiri waved her arm away as though she wouldn't listen.

"This quest for the Stones of Power was both of our destinies!" Yelled Zhan Tiri in anger.

The man pointed his finger at Zhan Tiri.

"No, we were suppose to study the Stones, their destiny is to be with the one who has the powers of both the White Wizard and The Dragon King and bring balance to the universe forever, or it was until you made even darker, you made it into gaining power for yourself, you turned your back on what was right!" Yelled the man in anger.

Adam heard the names of White Wizard and Dragon King before from both Adira and Andrea, but what do they mean.

Zhan Tiri pointed her finger in accusation.

"And you turned your back on me." Said Zhan Tiri.

"And as long as I live, I will not stop until I have the Ultimate Power!" Yelled Zhan Tiri as she took out a weapon, a boomerang.

The man closed his eyes as the monkey jumped off.

"I know." Said the man sadly.

Just as Zhan Tiri thew her boomerang, the man pulled a lever and turn on the machine behind him.

It began to pull Zhan Tiri in but she was able to hold on to the side of the machine.

The device began pulled everyone from it's range in.

"This is far from over Demanitus, I will have that power and when I do I will destroy not only this planet but all of the others you cared for." Said Zhan Tiri.

"I promise you!" Yelled Zhan Tiri as she went through the portal as her voice echoes.

Demanitus turned off the device and his knees fell to the ground.

The monkey went up to Demanitus.

"I had no other choice Vigor." Said Demanitus as he picked up Vigor.

He looked back at the device.

"I had to send her to the Lost Realm." Said Demanitus.

Adam was confused, was his destiny is to unite all six of the stones to bring balance or defeat the Ultimate Evils?

The robotic lizard tanks moved up the mountain.

Panthro looked through his scope at the oncoming army.

"It's time." Said Panthro.

Tygra turned to face Anet and Aburn.

"So, are you gonna help us or wait for that army to roll over your village?" Asked Tygra.

"We were supposed to meditate on that, weren't we?" Asked Anet as he turned to Aburn.

"Completely slipped our mind, come, Aburn let's get right to that." Said Anet as he and Aburn walked away and going to the meditation grounds.

"Of all the slow, dumb!" Yelled Panthro in anger.

Carter was starting to think that the whole Elephant never forgets motto is a lie.

"We can't stop an army that size." Said Cheetara as she was gesturing to the lizards.

"No, but I got a few surprises that'll slow 'em down." Said Panthro as he reached into his pocket and held up one of the bombs he had set down earlier with a grin.

The Lizards neared the village when all of a sudden an explosion came at them.

Another explosion went off not too far away and then another and another and it was taking out some of the lizard soldiers.

Slithe laughed.

"A pitiable defence, Thundera fell in a day, this will only take moments!" Yelled Slithe.

"Andrea, Slithe, take the hut." Said Grune as he pulled out his bludgeoner.

"The Cats are mine." Said Grune as he powered it up and fired off and destroyed all the devices near by.

The Lizards went up the mountainside.

Slithe and Andrea reached the top first and along with a good portion of the soldiers and all of them aiming their weapons at the hut as they surrounded it and ready to fire.

Cheetara saw this and ran towards them and holding out her staff.

"No one gets near that hut!" Yelled Cheetara as she ran through the crowd of lizards and knocking them into the air while disarming them of their bayonetted guns.

She stood in front of the hut.

More and more soldiers coming up the mountainside.

Panthro powered up the tank's cannon and fired it off at the lizards and blowing them away and wrecking some of the lizard robots.

"Come on, you old saber tooth." Said Panthro as he looked at the oncoming soldiers.

"Show yourself." Said Panthro.

He noticed something moved in the corner of his eye and he looked to see it was Grune coming up over the walls of the village.

Fury welled up within him and he moved the tank, driving it over to where Grune was with great speed and stopping in front of him.

"About time you showed up!" Yelled Panthro.

"This is meant to be a battle between Cats, not machines." Said Grune.

"Then the odds are in my favor." Said Panthro as he pulled out his nun-chucks.

Grune grinned.

"To the death then, old friend." Said Grune mockingly.

"Yeah, yours!" Yelled Panthro.

He began jumping off the tank and heading straight for Grune and swinging his nun-chucks in the air.

Grune swung his bludgeoner a few times and brought it down on Panthro's nun-chucks and so the battle between them began.

In the other part of the village Kat had found one of the rocket launchers the lizards had been using, and was having a little trouble resting it on his shoulder to fire it off at one of the robots.

He didn't notice the three soldiers behind him as they began to sneak up.

Once Kat finally got the launcher situated on his shoulder he fired it off, the kickback of the gun being enough to throw him back a few feet into the soldiers behind him as the rockets went to destroy the feet of the lizard robot.

When Kat got up, he saw he'd took out a robot and a few soldiers.

The entire battle Kit was sitting next to Aburn and Snarf beside her as they meditated on whether or not to fight against the lizards.

Adira was using her sword to slice through the weapons and beat the Lizards at Martial Arts.

Carter was using all three of his elemental powers to keep the lizards at bay.

Adam then saw Demanitus walking up some mountain with the six stones in a brown bag.

"Now what are you showing me?" Asked Adam.

He saw three people behind Demanitus.

One was a female with black hair with a pink uniform and had wings on her back.

One was a man with black hair also but had a Japanese kimono as an outfit.

One was another man with long white hair and a thin moustache and his outfit looked like he was an English man back in the ancient times.

Demanitus noticed they stopped.

"What is wrong?" Asked Demanitus in worry.

Suddenly their eyes turn black and raised their hands.

They mumbled some sort of old language, the only English part they was Zhan Tiri.

Suddenly fire came from beneath them and showed Zhan Tiri.

Only she wasn't human this time, she looked like a horned demonic creature.

Demanitus's eyes widened.

Zhan Tiri clenched her fist and brought it down on Demanitus.

Only to have a pink shield come around Demanitus and saving him.

Demanitus held out his hand.

"Ab Deme Inimicos Meos Coram Me." Said Demanitus as he spoke out an incantation.

A glow came from his hands and it hit all of his enemies and banished them to parts unknown.

Soon enough he was surronded by two other people.

One was Mumm-Rana.

The other was a man with a long blue cloak with a bald head and a symbol of a purple crecent moon on his head.

"I must trust you both to hide these." Said Demanitus as he held out four of the six stones.

"They must be hidden until the one who merges with them can take them, Zhan Tiri must never get her hands on them." Said Demanitus.

They nodded and the man took the stones while Mumm-Rana took half a scroll that contains infomation of the Stone's powers.

Soon they teleported with their magics.

He looked at the other half of the scroll as well as the other two stones and split the scroll into four pieces and walked away.

The vision ended after that and the Astral Planes were turned to normal.

"So that's it, my destiny is to find all the stones and stop Zhan Tiri for good." Said Adam as he finally realized what his destiny was.

The Stone glowed brightly, as though it was saying yes.

"Not if i can help it." Said a familler raspy voice.

Adam looked around before he spotted a familiar black crow.

"Mumm-Ra." Said Adam.

It jumped off the branch and flew in front of him.

"Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form into Mumm-Ra, the Ever-Living!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

Adam watched as the bird changed back into the mummified being he was so familiar with and then watched as he grew bigger and a pair of huge leathery wings breaking through the bandages as well as a hugely muscled body and decorated in Mumm-Ra's normal clothing.

He stood tall and was towering over Adam with his wings raised high.

"I'll just have to kill you to prevent you to follow your destiny!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

He let out a war cry as his hands shot out bolts of purple lightning and pushing Adam away from him.

Adam tumbled onto his side.

Adam groaned in pain, and worked to get on his feet.

He was sure that he had more than enough energy to fight Mumm-Ra.

As he began to get to his feet, he saw something on the ground and his eyes widened when he saw a crack in the ground and where underneath it seemed to be made of an amethyst-like stone.

Could it be? Thought Adam to himself as he hopes this was the Spirit Stone.

Cheetara stood outside the hut while holding her staff and glaring at all the lizard soldiers and the lizard robots that surrounded it.

Andrea was glaring at Cheetara.

"Why are you doing this?" Asked Cheetara as she was confused to why a human would serve Mumm-Ra.

Andrea looked away, not saying anything.

Cheetara saw something move out of the corner of her eye.

She looked to the side as she saw Kat dash up beside her.

"Get out of here!" Yelled Cheetara.

"I'll try to hold them off as long as possible!" Yelled Cheetara.

"No way, i'm defending this hut to the end!" Yelled Kat.

The lizards's weapons hummed as they powered up and as did the cannons on the lizard robots.

Cheetara held up her staff and was about ready to defend the hut until her last breath.

Kat looked up fearfully at the robot and raised his arms in defence of the oncoming blow and his eyes welling up in fear-filled tears as he readied for the end.

The Mecha suddenly went up as the cannon fired missing the hut.

Cheetara and WilyKat looked to see that Anet was under the robot's foot holding it up, preventing it from getting a clear shot at the hut.

"I thought you were gonna meditate." Said Cheetara with a grateful smile.

"We did." Replied Anet.

"And this is the answer that came to us." Said Anet.

He lifted up the leg of the robot and threw it making it hit another robot and explode on impact.

The soldiers all began to run as the elephants rose up and each one was fighting off one after another.

Kit sat on Aburn's shoulder as she was watching the soldiers run.

"You just woke a village of sleeping giants." Said Kit.

"ThunderCats Ho!" Yelled Kit.

Andrea ran away as the elephants began stomping.

She ran to where Slithe was gaping at them incredulously.

"I thought you said the elephants never fight!" Yelled Andrea.#

"Only rarely." Said Anet as he came up to them.

"But when we do, we fight to win!" Yelled Anet in determination.

He brought his fist down, ready to smash them.

Andra and Slithe were able jumped away.

Anet raised his hand up again and this time bringing down both fists on them and Andrea and Slithe instantly went back.

Slithe ran at the old elephant and using the blade of his bayoneted weapon to try and cut him but Anet was able to caught it in his huge fist and yanked it out of the lizard's grasp.

He held it in front of them and they watched with wide eyes as he bent it with such ease and tossing it away.

Slithe ran from him with Andrea behind him.

"What do you say we settle this with our fists?" Asked Panthro as he knew this was a lost cause.

Grune smirked and threw down his bludgeoner and Panthro threw down his nun-chucks.

They both ran at each other with fists flying as they tried to land a blow.

"With you out of the way, there will be nothing to stop me from finding the Spirit Stone!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

Adam stood up.

"You're too late, I already found it." Said Adam.

Mumm-Ra looked at him suspiciously, thinking he was bluffing.

Adam looked down at the ground and watched as a purple hue began to take form.

As the ground began to melt away.

He saw that they were all standing on top of a huge Spirit Stone.

Remembering how he absorbed the War Stone he dug his flesh hand into the stone and sparks flying from the contact.

Adam shielded his eyes as a bright light came from it as the stone slowly went into Adam's chest, right next to the War Stone and making a small teardrop on the back for a new place to put it.

Adam's hair and eyes turned pink.

When it was done they were standing in a starry expanse of space and his arm extended into an armoured arm.

He held up his arm letting the stone glow blinding Mumm-Ra slightly.

In anger Mumm-Ra built up a huge blast of his power and shot it at Adam who still held his hand and making it act as a shield as he prevented the blast from hitting them like he saw Demanitus did.

Mumm-Ra looked at him with wide eyes and Adam smirked.

"Now let's see what this Spirit Stone can do." Said Adam.

He held his hands and bolts of lightning flew as its power was amplified by the power of the Spirit Stone and a huge amount of power shot out of it to Mumm-Ra, and threw him back until he was out of their line of sight.

He stopped as a rumbling sounded beneath their feet and the starry space beneath him began to crack like glass.

Realizing that without the Spirit Stone the Astral Planes will collapase and began to run for the portal with the Astral Planes falling shortly afterwards into an infinite space.

Just outside the hut, Panthro and Grune were still fighting.

Panthro blocked one of Grune's punches and was about to respond with his own when he suddenly noticed how strong the winds were getting near the portal.

"Take cover!" Yelled Adam.

He looked and saw Adam come tumbling out and heading for safety.

A bird slipped out shortly afterward but his attention wasn't on that.

His attention was on Grune as they both began to slip towards the portal because Grune had grabbed onto him to try and stay out of it.

The winds were strong enough to take Grune off his feet and Panthro had to fight to keep himself out of the collapsing portal but Grune somehow managed to slip through.

"Pull me free, Panthro!" Yelled Grune through the roaring winds,

"Pull me free, or we both die!" Yelled Grune.

Panthro merely looked at Gune.

"The defeat of your enemy is worth any sacrifice!" Yelled Panthro.

As the portal began to close up and never to open again Grune screamed for his life as it closed around him and what little it did of Panthro.

Once it closed the hut exploded as a result as it was no longer able to exist without the Astral Planes.

Once the explosion had ended everyone began to stand once it was over and they looked around and surveying the damage the village had taken.

There were a few damaged homes and some gardens had been destroyed but it wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed over time.

Adam looked around and saw that the damage to the elephants and the cats had been minimal.

Panthro stood at where the hut once was but his arms were gone and a strange material surrounded the place where they had been cut off.

He grunted as he managed to get on his feet.

"Worth it." Said Panthro.

He fell to the ground and everyone ran over to him and checking to see how he was.

They rolled him onto his back to try and get a better look.

That night, the air was filled with joyous music and the smell of deliciously cooked vegetarian foods.

The elephants were celebrating their victory against the lizards.

Kit was having a great time and was providing some of the music with Aburn and a couple other elephants.

Kat was gorging himself on food.

Adam had broken off from the party and was going to find some calmness after the events that took place in the Astral Planes. No one blamed him.

Panthro was sitting in a small isolated area and unable to really join in the festivities and Snarf was spoon-feeding him some of the food.

"I don't need a blasted nursemaid!" Yelled Panthro as Snarf ran away in fear.

"How are you holding up?" Asked Adam as he went up to him.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"You know what I'll miss the most?" Asked Panthro.

"The scars, a lot of history on those arms." Said Panthro as he looked down to where his arms are supposed to be.

"Get some rest." Said Adam.

"Maybe we can go and talk to Berbils later about getting you some new arms?" Asked Adam.

Panthro shrugged his shoulders again in response.

Snarf went back to where he was before and was grabbing a spoon and holding it up to Panthro with a smile.

When he glared at him Snarf only let out a sound that sounded like a nervous chuckle.

Adam stood at the edge of one of the cliffs outside the village.

He heard thumping footsteps behind him and looked to see Anet approaching him and Carter behind him.

"Few could have faced what you did and come out victorious, Adam, you did well." Said Adam.

"Thanks." Said Adam with a smile.

They began to take one last look at the village before leaving and Tygra and Cheetara kissing.

They smiled and walked off to give the new couple some privacy.

Adam held out the scroll Adira.

"I guess thanks to Adira for this scroll, I should be able to understand the Spirit Stone's powers." Said Adam as he began looking at the Scroll.

"Speaking of which, where is Adira, she disappeared after the hut exploded." Said Carter.

They both looked around and Adira had vanished.

Unknown to them she was watching from the darkness before leaving for her next destination, to the next stone.


	19. New Alliances

The kittens cheered as they flew down the canyon and riding on their new hover boards the Berbils had given to them as a gift.

"Woo-hoo!" Yelled Kit as she cheered and her voice was echoing across the canyon.

"Someone tell me how we ever lived without hover boards." Said Kat said.

They performed a little loop over and flew around a bit more until they saw something in front of them.

it was a large, green hovercraft, surrounded by lizard soldiers.

The twins stopped their hover boards.

The lizards let out small hisses when they saw them.

"ThunderCats?" Asked one of them in surprise.

"Um hi?" Asked Kat as he was greeting them with a small wave.

"We were just leaving." Said Kit and they quickly turned around and the two of them quickly flew away.

They soon heard the humming of an engine and saw that the lizards were following them down the canyon on their own hovercraft which had been specially designed for war, equipped with special guns.

They went all the way down to the end of the canyon where they knew Adam, Carter, Cheetara, and Tygra were waiting for them.

"Looks like you're trapped." Said The lizard acting as the captain as he was showing them his rows of sharp teeth as he grinned.

"Are we trapped?" Asked Kit.

"Or are you?" Asked Kat.

Adam revealed himself as he stood at the top of the canyon.

He pulled out his sword and lengthening it.

"ThunderCats Ho!" Yelled Adam.

Red Lightning flew from the sword.

Immediately the lizards fired their weapons at him.

Adam held up his hand and the Spirit Stone shining brightly as he used its power to create something of a powerful barrier to keep the shots from hitting him.

Carter came up also and lifted his hands and used his earth powers to make the rocks at the top of the canyon right above where the lizards hovercraft was and come tumbling down on them.

They stopped firing to protect themselves from the rocks and this gave Adam the opportunity he needed to come down the canyon towards them with his sword at the ready.

The lizards turned the hovercraft towards him and fired a special electric cannon which sent out a powerful beam of lightning towards Adan.

He held out his sword and made the lightning come to it and not to him and he stood in front of the lizards as the continuous stream of lightning kept going.

He carefully angled his sword so the lightning would hit the Eye of Thundera and the red jewel began to glow and was shooting out a huge red blast that hit the hovercraft and knocked it on its side and rendering it useless.

Adam still stood at the ready.

The lizards came out from the hovercraft and were powering up their guns and aiming them at Adam.

Carter used the earth to trap the lizards to the ground but a few managed to evade it.

Cheetara soon came zooming down from atop the canyon and knocked any remaining weapons out of the soldiers hands.

She didn't see the one that had somehow gotten on the ledge above the fight and he aimed his weapon at her and was preparing to fire.

He jumped back when another hit suddenly came towards him and knocking him down the canyon.

Cheetara looked at where the lizard had been and then looked back at Tygra and was smiling at him.

He returned it by giving her a single, flirtatious wink as he held up the rifle he had used.

Soon all the lizards were gathered.

"What are we gonna do with them?" Asked Cheetara.

"We're gonna let them go." Replied Adam.

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"Excuse me?" Asked Tygra.

"They've fought under Mumm-Ra long enough to know they don't want to live under him." Said Adam as he was stepping closer to where the lizards are.

"This mission is not just a threat to Cats, if we don't unite against him, we'll fall together before him." Said Adam as he knew he needed to unify the animals and not just stones.

One of the soldiers let out a laugh.

"Cats and Lizards united together?" Asked the lizard as he was looking at Adam like he was crazy.

"If that's your plan for victory, you are a fool." Said the lizard.

"Maybe, but can you honestly say that working with Mumm-Ra is any better then with the Cats?" Asked Adam.

None of the lizards answered as most of them looking away from her as he stepped forward closer to them.

"You have a choice to live free like us or you can continue to work as a slave to Mumm-Ra." Said Adam.

The lizards began speaking to each other in hushed tones.

Eventually the lizard who had spoken up before stood up and looked to his fellow soldiers.

"Let's go home." Said the lizard.

The Lizards walked away and leaving their weapons behind.

Tygra went up to Adam.

"You still haven't given up the idea that you can turn the Lizards good just by cutting them a break." Said Adam.

"You saw what happened after I won the Spirit Stone." Said Adam as he held his newly acquired Spirit Stone in his chest.

"Mass desertions in the Lizard Army, this isn't their war, they don't even know what they're fighting for anymore." Said Adam.

"All I know is what I'm fighting for." Said Tygra as he turned to Cheetara with a smile.

"That reminds me, thanks for watching my back." Said Cheetara before she gave Tygra a kiss on the cheek.

"Well, your back's real easy to watch." Said Tygra.

"I think I'm gonna hack up a hairball." Said Kat as he was looking at the two with a grimace.

Tygra cleared his throat.

"Sorry." Said Tygra.

"Don't be, we're all happy for you." Said Adam with a smirk as Carter nodded.

Tygra smiled at him.

"Thanks." Said Tygra.

"I'm really glad you feel that way." Said Cheetara as she was afraid that Adam would be angry.

"Let's go check on Panthro, those Berbils should have his arms ready by now." Said Adam.

Kit and Kat jumped on their hover boards and smiled at them.

"Yeah, if those furry little bears can make these hover boards, I can't wait to see what they do with Panthro's new arms!" Yelled Kit excitedly.

Soon enough everyone was heading back to the village.

"Hold still Panthro." Said Ro-Bear-Bill as he continued to work on Panthro's arms.

"Almost finished." Said Ro-Bear-Bill.

"You think you can actually put me back together?" Asked Panthro as he was sitting down on some chair while under a cloth while the Berbils were working on Panthro's new arms.

Ro-Bear-Bill didn't answer and were more focused on his work.

"Sometimes, I can still feel them, the worst part is when they itch, nothing there to scratch, nothing there to scratch with." Said Panthro as he looked down to where Arms were supposed to be.

A few more sparks flew from where Ro-Bear-Bill was working and looked up when he was done.

"Berbils done." Said Ro-Bear-Bill.

Panthro lifted his new arms out from under the cloth and his eyes went wide when he saw that they were little stubby furry arms and were pink of all colours.

He lifted them up, moving them around with a horrified expression.

"You call these arms?!" Asked/Yelled Panthro as he was gritting his teeth.

"Berbil arms." Replied Ro-Bear-Bill.

Panthro glared at the fuzzy things as Adam and Carter walked into the room.

"Hey Panthro, how's it going?" Asked Adam.

Panthro raised up his arms with an angry scowl.

"How does it look like it's going?!" Asked/Yelled Panthro.

Carter hid his smile behind his hand so Panthro wouldn't be too insulted.

"Oh, they're not so bad." Said Adam as his voice quivering and shoulders shaking as he tried to hold in his laughter.

"In fact they're actually-" Said Adam before he snorted in laughter unable to awnser

"Adorable." Said Carter.

"Are you two trying to make me mad?!" Asked Panthro as he growled at them.

"Sorry." Said Adam as he tried to straighten his face.

"Good news though, we had another successful ambush." Said Adam.

"At this rate, Mumm-Ra won't have an army to stop us from finding the next stone." Said Adam.

"Just don't win the war before I have a chance to get a few more licks in." Said Panthro.

Panthro glared at the pink arms again.

"Can someone please get these things off of me?!" Yelled Panthro.

The Berbils were unaffected by his tone and got to work again.

Adam and Carter walked out of the Berbil operation room and headed outside and let out the laughter they were holding in.

Andrea and Slithe were bowing before Mumm-Ra in the Black Pyramid.

"A general is only as strong as his army, Slithe." Said Mumm-Ra.

"And yours is an embarrassment, entire battalions fleeing at the mere sight of the Cats." Said Mumm-Ra.

"What do they have to be loyal to, Lord Mumm-Ra?" Asked Slithe.

"You've made it clear they are nothing more than minions to you." Said Slithe.

"I'm not asking for loyalty!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

"I want warriors who fight not for treasure, but for blood." Said Mumm-Ra.

"Warriors like these." Said Mumm-Ra as he raised his hand and both Slithe and Andrea looked to see a large white Gorilla and a tall hairy Jackal and both of them carrying large heavy-looking weapons appear in the large mirror on the floor of the room.

"Who are they?" Asked Slithe.

"Wretched souls, motivated only by base emotions and currently incarcerated for crimes vile, even to me." Said Mumm-Ra.

Wait even he has limits? Thought Andrea in surprise.

"These two are to be my new generals." Said Mumm-Ra.

Andrea looked back at the two animals.

Slithe's eyes widened and he looked up at Mumm-ra.

"New generals?" Asked Slithe in surprise.

"The Lizard army will never listen to a Monkian and a Jackalman!" Yelled Slithe as he pointed to the two animals.

"They will at least see to it that there are consequences for deserting." Said Mumm-Ra as he was glaring at Slithe.

"And more importantly, give us the means to recruit the armies of their people." Said Mumm-Ra.

"Both of you will free them and bring them to me, we will show the ThunderCats this war is only beginning!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

"Slithe, you shall go to the Bird Nation and retrieve Addicus and Andrea you shall go to retrieve Kaynar from a prison in the darkest, most dangerous part of the dog territory." Orders Mumm-Ra.

"Now, go!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as he ordered, pointing them out of the room and after they both bowed to the demon and exited the room

Meanwhile Adam and Carter were continuing the goal to disband the lizard army.

"Adam?" Asked Carter.

Adam turned around to look at Carter.

"How much time has passed here?" Asked Carter.

Adam looked at Carter in confusion.

"We still don't know much about Third Earth, like for all we know a year here could be a day on Earth." Said Carter.

"Well that may be true but like you said before, there is still we don't know much about Third Earth about like for all we know time could be the same." Said Adam.

"That's true." Said Carter.

They decided to stop talking about it for now and continued with their goal.

High up in the mountain tops of Third Earth where there was enough moisture in the clouds for trees to grow at the top of the peaks and from those trees homes had been made for the only people that wanted to live in a place so high from the world.

A large group of the birds had gathered around one particular area where a large white gorilla named Addicus had been tied upside down on a long branch.

"For your crimes against the Bird Nation, you are hereby sentenced to death." Said a bird who appeared to be a leader.

"Don't I at least get a last meal?" Asked Addicus as he dangled in the air.

"It is the custom." Replied the leader.

Addicus smiled.

"Good, because you are looking quite tasty!" Yelled Addicus as he let out a small roar and the leader shook his head.

"I'm afraid Atticus that today, you are at the bottom of the food chain." Said the leader as he was looking at him in disgust.

"Then you'd better make sure this drop is high enough to kill me!" Yelled Addicus as he growled.

"The only way you'll survive is if you suddenly grow wings." Said The leader.

He gestured to another one of the birds who had a hood over his head and he flew up towards the rope where Addicus dangled.

After a moment he swung a clawed foot across the rope and cut it.

Addicus yelled as he quickly began to fall beneath the clouds the earth below.

The birds watched the cliff.

They heard a low humming and saw Addicus coming back up through the clouds on a lizard hovercraft with two others flanking it.

He smiled at the birds.

"It seems I've been given a last minute reprieve." Said Addicus with a smirk.

The birds looked at him and the lizards in fear as they charged up their weapons.

Slithe took a sharpened axe and cut through the ropes that bound Addicus.

"You owe your life to Lord Mumm-Ra, barbarian!" Yelled Slithe.

"Join us, or I will push you off this platform myself." Said Slithe as he made a gesture by pointing down to where they're standing.

"Fine." Said Atticus as he turned back to the birds.

"But first, I'm owed a meal." Said Addicus as he began to road.

The leader began to shake and tremble in fear at the horrifying look of hunger on his face.

Addicus banged his large fists against the metal of the platform before jumping up and going after the birds who all squawked and began to fly away.

Ro-Bear-Bill began tightening up one of the bolts on Panthro's arms, with designs that he had approved of.

"Ro-Bear-Bill make adjustments to new arms." Said Ro-Bear-Bill as he worked on it.

"The only adjustment I care about is making sure they don't look completely ridiculous!" Yelled Panthro as he snapped.

Ro-Bear-Bill twisted the bolt a few more times and then looked up at Panthro.

Panthro stood up, and lifted up his arms and was looking at the newly clawed hand and smiling at how intimidating it looked.

He moved the fingers around a bit before turning it into a fist.

"Hmm, not too bad." Said Panthro as he was punching the air a couple of times.

Suddenly, the wrist began to rotate rapidly and Panthro soon found that he was punching himself.

The Berbils jumped back as his arms began to move out of his control and were swinging around the room at high speeds.

"By the Great Sky Cat's Claws, make it stop!" Yelled Panthro as he punched himself again before his hands reached up high and moved around towards the sides of the room.

"Turn them off!" Yelled Panthro loudly as he punched his chin and his body had to move to keep up his balance as they kept swerving through the room.

"Further adjustments required." Said Ro-Bear-Bill and was shaking his head as he watched the two new arms.

In the darkest corner of the dog territory a storm raged as it moved over the highest security prison they had.

Travelling down an elevator with two huge dog guards flanking his sides and trapped and wrapped up completely against a tall board made for the transport of dangerous prisoners was Kaynar being taken down to the lowest level of the prison which was used for only one thing.

"Solitary confinement." Said Kaynar.

"But I said I was sorry!" Yelled Kaynar.

The two dog guards didn't reply.

"I mean, when you think about it, you should really be thanking me." Said Kaynar as he smiled maniacally.

"You got eleven less prisoners to worry about." Said Kaynar.

He let out a maniacal laugh as the two guards continued to wheel him forward.

He still kept that insane grin on his face as he sighed.

"At least I'll have the voices in my head to talk to." Said Kaynar as he looked at the two guards.

He saw one of the guards looking at him in horror and was afraid to ask of just what went on in that head.

The two guards approached the cell and they both went over to it to help it open up.

The door slid open with a soft hiss and they turned back to Kaynar to push him inside when they were suddenly knocked down by a large blasts of green lights that came from guns hidden inside the darkness of solitary confinement.

Kaynar looked at the darkness with wide eyes and a wicked smile.

"House guests?" Asked Kaynar into the dark.

He watched as Andrea emerged from the dark giving the Jackal a smile.

"Greetings, Kaynar." Greeted Andrea.

"Mumm-Ra tells me that you're a vicious, reckless, blood thirsty—" Said Andrea before she was cut off.

"Did he say handsome?" Asked Kaynar as he gave her a flirtatious wink.

"I don't really think your good looks were on his mind at the moment." Said Andrea, feeling a bit flustered.

"But he said that we of the Lizard army could really use someone like you." Said Andrea.

Kaynar raised a brow as he was intrigued by the option.

"What can you give me?" Asked Kaynar.

"Well, we can get you out of this prison for one thing." Said Andrea.

"Actually, I'm quite comfortable right here." Said Kaynar as he was no longer interested in the offer.

Andrea stepped forward and was pulling out an old slightly broken crest of the ThunderCats.

"How about Cats?" Asked Andrea.

Kaynar's eyes lit up at the sight of it.

"Ooh, Now, I like Cats." Said Kaynar with a smirk.

Taking that as a yes Andrea raised up her hand and the chains and metal bars that kept Kaynar confined suddenly came off and he stepped free from the carrier.

He stood up, grinning insanely as he turned to Andrea.

"Do you mind if I say goodbye to some pals?" Asked Kaynar.

Andrea shrugged.

Kaynar looked back to the guards and began laughing in insane glee as he came towards them.

Andrea looked emotionless as whimpers and cries of the dog guards as Kanar began to attack them.

It was dark that night as the Cats still keeping an eye out for any lizard soldiers.

Adam had borrowed Panthro's mechanical scope to get a better look into the darkness, seeing as he wasn't going to use it for a while.

He saw a large group of something and saw familiar faced lizards leading the way in front of another hovercraft and all of their expressions solemn and shoulders slumped.

"Those are the same lizards we convinced to desert earlier." Said Adam as he was putting the scope down.

"Must have been captured by their own army." Said Tygra as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Tough break." Said Tygra sarcastically.

Adam shot him a dirty look.

"You don't want to help them?" Asked Adam.

"Whether they're deserters or prisoners, they're not our problem anymore." Replied Tygra.

"You don't understand." Said Adam.

"If we don't stand by them, they'll stand by Mumm-Ra!" Yelled Adam in anger.

"Tygra's right, it's too dangerous to save lizards who can turn on us tomorrow." Said Cheetara.

"It's not just about saving lizards, it's about their army being on the verge of collapse and not letting up the pressure!" Yelled Adam.

Adam stood up and looked to the kittens and was pointing to them in the direction of the village.

"You two should go back to the Berbil village, they're right about this being dangerous." Said Adam.

The kittens let out groans of disapproval but did as he asked, heading out to the village.

Once they had turned the corner Adam began heading down the cliff side with Carter behind him.

The other two stood up and went to the edge.

"Adam, wait!" Yelled Cheetara.

"We have to stick together!" Yelled Cheetara.

Adam stopped and looked back at them and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"You two stick together, we'll do this alone!" Yelled Adam and they continued on.

Adam and Carter continued onwards and stopped in front of the soldier procession and pulled out his sword.

On the hovercraft rested Slithe and Andre at the front of the hovercraft with their back to Adam and Carter.

"Well if isn't the Lord of Third Earth." Said Slithe mockingly with a smirk.

"I always knew you weren't so bright, Slithe, but you seem to have forgotten who you're fighting against." Said Adam with a smirk,

"I haven't forgotten." Said Slithe.

"It's just that I find that these cowards are even worse than Cats." Said Slithe as he looked at his former soldiers.

"What kind of soldier abandons his post?!" Yelled Slithe.

The soldiers flinched at the tone of his voice.

"Luckily, Mumm-Ra's new generals Kaynar and Addicus found them before they got to far." Said Andrea as she pointed up as Kaynar and Addicus came down and landed in front of them and bearing their fangs as well as their weapons.

The two animals bore terrifying grins on their faces.

Adam looked at the two.

"New generals, Slithe, does that mean Mumm-Ra finally figured out you can't handle the job?" Asked Carter with a smirk.

Andrea let a small laugh escape her lips while attempting to hide it and Slithe shot her a glare before he glared at Adam.

"They're only here to make an example of these deserters!" Yelled Slithe.

"It'll be an example of what happens when an axe meets a neck!" Yelled Kaynar with his signature maniacal grin.

"The lizard army will understand there are consequences for betraying Mumm-Ra." Said Addicus with a smirk of his own.

"I can't let that happen." Said Adam as he was gripping the Sword of Omens a little tighter.

"That's quite noble, considering you're the reason they're in this position!" Yelled Slithe as he was jumping out of the hovercraft with Andrea jumping down beside him.

The four beings went around Adam and Carter.

"But four against two, that's hardly fair." Said Addicus.

They jumped back when four leaf-shaped shuriken pierced the ground in front of their feet.

They looked up for the source and saw Cheetara expertly spinning her staff with branches extending from it.

She put her staff down and the branches sinking back into the staff.

"Do we even the odds?" Asked Cheetara.

She and Tygra appeared on separate cliffs.

"Did you really think we'd let you do this alone?" Asked Tygra.

They jumped down from the cliffs to fight and soon everyone was facing their own enemy.

Tygra went for Kaynar.

Cheetara went for Addicus.

Carter went for Andrea.

Adam went for Slithe.

While everyone was fighting, the captive lizards were able to escape.

But soon everyone was loosing their battle.

Tygra had been tied up with his own whip and was Kanar's hostage.

Carter was trapped in a magic barrier made by Andrea.

Cheetara and Adam were still fighting their own enemies but Adam was quickly becoming exhausted as well was Cheetara.

"Look around you Adam." Said Slithe.

Adam looked up to see Carter and Tygra captured.

Kaynar held his axe at the back of Tygra's neck.

"Surrender or we'll kill 'em!" Yelled Kaynar.

"I believe it's your turn to surrender now." Said Slithe.

Lion-O's eyes lingered before turning back to Slithe and was holding on tightly to his sword.

"Never, there's still two of us!" Yelled Adam.

The sound of wood against stone caught Adam's attention and he looked back to see Cheetara had tossed her staff down which even made Addicus surprised.

"Cheetara, what are you doing?" Asked Adam in confusion.

"I thought we had to stick together!" Yelled Adam.

"I have to stick with him." Said Cheetara as she was gesturing to where Tygra was.

He looked up and gave her a small smile of gratitude.

Slithe brought his gun down on Adam's head and putting him on the ground.

Addicus grabbed Cheetara and was keeping her hostage in his huge arms.

Slithe held up his gun and looked at the two new generals.

"Kill them in whatever manner amuses you." Said Slithe in a grin.

"Oooooh, The possibilities." Said Kaynar with insane glee and with excitement as Tygra growled.

Suddenly a large explosion of a rocket went off.

The resounding shockwave was enough to get Cheetara out of Addicus's grasp and managed to get Kanar's attention away from Tygra and made Andrea's barrier disappear.

"Take cover!" Yelled Slithe as he was carrying his weapon over his head to try and protect himself.

The others followed suit.

After Carter freed Tygra from his bindings and the pair went over to where their two friends were.

They all looked up as they watched a newly improved and upgraded Thunder Tank come right through the rocky cliff side.

It rolled to a stop in front of them as well as the four generals.

Panthro opened up the top of the tank and stepped out and held up his two new mechanical arms.

There was a hiss and air was expelled from them as the arms suddenly turned into long flying fists that gave a good, hard punch to all four of their opponents.

His arms retracted back into their original state and he looked back at the others.

"We'll get plenty more chances to tangle with these beasts, now get in!" Yelled Panthro.

They all did so as quickly as they could.

The tank quickly closed and roared off away from Slithe and the others leaving a huge wave of dust to blind them as they escaped.

Once they were safe inside the tank they saw that some of the Berbils were driving the tank which explained how it had been functioning without Panthro inside it.

Adam slumped his shoulders and was hanging his head in defeat.

Panthro came over to him and clapped his new arm on Adam's shoulders.

"Don't get so down, kid." Said Panthro.

"You only lost a battle, not the war." Said Panthro.

"But these new generals, their army will be stronger than ever." Said Adam.

"We'll get through this." Said Panthro.

"We just have to stick together." Said Panthro.

Adam didn't reply.

He looked up with fire and determination shining in his eyes, he will unite the animals as well as the stones, no matter what.


	20. Native Son

The next morning after escaping the new generals the ThunderCats team gathered around.

"How about we fire up the Book of Omens, Panthro?" Asked Adam.

"Find out where the next stone is." Said Adam as he needed to get this done as soon as possible.

Panthro nodded and went over to the book and activated and a soft beeping was heard and then the book showed them a holographic red compass.

It took a moment to calculate the directions and location and the needle pointed upwards and a small beam of bright red light pointing towards the ceiling of the ThunderTank.

"Up?" Asked Panthro when he saw it.

"How can it be up?" Asked Panthro as he looked well up.

"I don't know." Said Adam.

"But if the Book says the stone is up, then that's where we're going." Said Tygra as he moved over to the console of the tank and began activating it so they would be able to see where to go.

There were cameras all around the tank's screens and the pictures they saw were put onto a group of screens to give them a large range of view.

The first thing that showed up before them was a long mountain range covered in ice.

"Yeah I don't think that's what It mean, Tygra." Said Adam as he knew it wouldn't be as simple as that.

"Adam's right, the Book can be cryptic at times, maybe you're misinterpreting the message." Said Cheetara in agreement.

Tygra shook his head with confidence.

"When have I've been wrong?" Asked Tygra as he walked off.

"Do you want an actual list?" Asked Carter as he called out.

Regardless the Tank began moving towards the location.

The tank suddenly jerked to a stop and they could see a long mountain range that went up very high.

"It'll take us weeks to get around these mountains!" Yelled Panthro in anger.

"we don't have to the Book will lead us to the Stone, me, Adam and Carter can scout it out to find it and then return." Said Tygra.

After with a little tinkering the Book came out with it's holo arrow still working and went up.

Carter shivered and brought his arms closer around himself and was looking up at all the high snowy cliffs of the mountains they traveled on.

The trek itself was difficult.

The snow was knee-high and even deeper if you stepped in the wrong place.

They had been walking for a while but the Arrow still hasn't budged an inch.

"So much for finding the stone." Said Adam as he put the book away.

"I know it's here, we just haven't looked everywhere yet." Said Tygra as he walked forward.

"Stubborn ideot" Said Carter as he shook his head.

"Why can't you admit your wrong Tygra, the stone's obviously not here." Said Adam.

"I'm not wrong." Said Tygra in stubbornness.

"What is it with you and your pride?" Asked Adam in frustration.

"PRIDE IS WHAT MAKES ME A TIGER!" Yelled Tygra.

His yelling came across the mountains and the three of them froze and was looking around them.

A rumbling could be heard and a part of the mountain's snow broke off and began to fall quickly towards them.

"Avalanche!" Yelled all three.

They ran to find somewhere to take cover.

They soon found a high boulder in the ground and they all ran towards that.

Tygra grabbed the two of them to safety and were against the rock as the snow fell over them.

After a moment the avalanche stopped and they slowly got up.

They all looked to see the direction they came from.

"Still think we're gonna find that stone?" Asked Adam

He glared at Adam and looked around and his gaze stopping on something above them.

"We found something, look!" Yelled Tygra as he pointed up and they saw a cave hidden away in the side of the mountain.

It didn't take them very long to reach the cave.

They warily approached the entrance and were being careful to keep an eye out for any potential threats.

From the light of the sun they could see a little ways into the cave and could tell that someone had been living there for some time.

Tunnels had been dug in the sides of the cave walls, and a few tarps rested over the entrances and were acting like doors.

Seeing that no one was there at the moment the three of them entered the cave and was looking around.

There weren't any signs of current life but that idea was destroyed when they saw a group of hooded men approaching them.

They all readied themselves for a battle as they were not sure if these were enemies or friends.

"Hello, my friends and I mean no harm." Said Adam as he was stepping forward.

"We're lost, and—" Said Adam before he was cut off.

Tygra stepped up and shoved him back a step.

"We are not lost." Said Tygra in stubbornness.

Carter stepped up closer.

"Not the time, Tygra." Whispered Carter harshly.

A murmur suddenly buzzed through the group of men at the mention of his name.

One of them stepped forward.

"Your name is Tygra?" Asked one of them.

Tygra removed his hood to properly look at the people addressing him and Adam and Carter did the same.

"You ask as if you know me." Said Tygra.

The other man removed his hood and was showing that he was a tiger as well.

"I am Caspin, of the Tiger clan, we have long waited for this day, Tygra." Said Caspin as he smiled warmly at him as the others removed their hoods and was showing that they were all tigers.

"Welcome home, your father will be eager to see you." Said Caspin.

Tygra's eyes widened.

"My father?" Asked Tygra in shock.

The trio followed Caspin as he led them through the village and Caspin brought them to a separate room and opened the large double doors.

"Look who it is, Javan." Said Caspin.

The three of them were shown to a room where seven cats sat around a bonfire and the head cat looking remarkably similar to Tygra.

It still held a sort of majesty to it that made them think of a throne room and chances were it most likely was.

Javan's eyes widened when he saw Tygra and he did the same.

"Tygra is that you?" Asked Javan.

"I can't believe it." Said Tygra in disbelief.

"All this time I thought I was alone and here you are!" Yelled Tygra as he looked around.

"It's quite a surprise to see you." Said Javan.

Javan looked away from his son and Tygra looked to the ground in sadness.

"Forgive your father, your return is nothing short of miraculous." Said Caspin.

Tygra said nothing.

Adam stepped forward.

"Where did you come from?" Asked Adam.

"In ancient times, the tiger clan was the pride of Mumm-Ra's elite fighting force." Said Javan.

"During the Great Mutiny, we stayed loyal, because of it, the Tigers were treated as outcasts by the other Cat clans." Said Jaga.

"Our people settled in these mountains, even under such harsh conditions, we prospered for generations, until—" Said Javan.

"Enough of our history." Said Caspin quickly.

"We want to hear about you, Tygra, tell us how you came to be a prince among lions." Said Tygra as he closed his eyes to try and remember the events happening.

Tygra looked up and at the small group who had gathered before him.

"It wasn't until I was older that I was told the story of my arrival, the king and queen had yet to bear a child to continue the royal line, one day, a crowd of people gathered around a balloon that held a basket that carried a baby tiger and a piece of paper that bore nothing more than my name, since they had yet to give birth to a son and had lost their first child, a princess, they took me in, and raised me to become the king Thundera deserved." Said Tygra.

"Mother would always called me her Little Prince but, as I grew older, my parents approached me, and told me that I was going to be a big brother after that, I wasn't the 'Little Prince'. When the time of the birth came, there were complications, a raid happened and my mother had been taken to another world beyond our knowledge, that night, I lost the two things I cherished most, my mother, and my kingdom." Said Tygra.

Adam and Carter felt sorry for Tygra now, he lost everything, his mother, his elder sister, his father, his brother and his kingdom.

Caspin approached Tygra with a warm smile.

"But today, you become heir of the land of your own." Said Caspin.

Tygra looked up at Javan.

"If I'm part of this royal line, then why did you give me away?!" Yelled Tygra in anger as all of this was taken away.

"I did not give you away." Said Javan as he was refusing to meet Tygra's eyes.

"It was for your protection." Said Javen as he looked up above at a sky light in the room.

"Now, look, darkness is falling." Said Javan.

Everyone was seeing that two of the moons had risen in the sky and the sun was beginning to set.

"You need to leave for your own safety." Said Javan as he began to leave.

The other tigers in the room stood up to leave as well.

"Not until I get an explanation." Said Tygra firmly.

He stayed still as the other tigers began to file out of the room.

"This village has long been haunted by an unspeakable evil." Said Javan as he walked by.

"I only wish to keep you safe from it, my son." Said Javan.

"I'm a ThunderCat. I don't run from a fight." Said Tygra as he glared at him.

"Something my father taught me." Said Tygra.

A flash of pain flickered across Javan's face but it left as soon as it came.

"Am I supposed to believe you sent me away because of boogeymen?!" Yelled Tygra as he angered by the idea.

"If you cherish your life, you will go now." Said Javan as he walked around the group and was heading off into another part of the village.

Tygra growled angrily in his throat.

"I wish I never found this place!" Yelled Tygra as he clenched his claw.

Adam turned to him with wide eyes.

"Tygra, he's your father!" Yelled Adam.

"Claudus was my father!" Yelled Tygra.

"He's just a cat who abandoned his child." Said Tygra.

"Don't let your stubborn pride get in the way of forgiving him." Said Adam

Suddenly they heard a strange hissing noise from the darkness of the village.

"What was that?" Asked Tygra as he turned to see what it was.

Their eyes widened when they saw tall black thin creatures with huge frightening yellow eyes crawling around on the rocks towards them and some kind of a black smoke radiating from their bodies.

"I think it's the boogeymen." Said Adam as he pulled out his sword.

Carter and Tygra got prepared as well.

They charged in to the gang of strange monsters.

Adam was using the sword to beat down two at a time while Tygra used his whip to knock them back and Carter used fire to push them away.

The battle was relatively short and it ended with Adam, Carter and Tygra all against each other's backs.

"What are these things?!" Asked Adam as he saw their fallen forms.

They all watched with wide eyes as a black smoke began radiating off of them again and they all began to stand up looking like they weren't hit.

"Whatever they are, they're not going down!" Yelled Tygra.

"And we will if we don't get somewhere safe now!" Yeleld Carter.

The three of them turned and ran down a tunnel that led to an icicle-covered cavern.

The monsters didn't hesitate to follow after them.

"Guess your father was telling the truth!" Yelled Adam as they ran.

He looked back over his shoulder and was seeing the monsters were a good distance away from them.

He jumped up and slashed down a good number of the huge icicles that filled the cavern, and they fell to the ground behind him.

The three stopped to look back at the wall Adam had made and was watching as the monsters tried to push through the small cracks.

They kept running until they were out of sight of the monsters and moved into a small cavern.

They all sighed in relief once they were safe.

The cavern was dark which forced Carter to make some fire in her hands.

Seeing as there was no wood to help them light a fire they used their cloaks to keep themselves warm in the darkness.

Soon enough, their eyes adjusted to the dark, and they all settled down.

Meanwhile the tigers have gathered in a meeting.

"We have been given a second chance, Javan." Said Caspin.

The other tigers mumbled in agreement.

"Do you realize what you're asking?" Asked Javan in shock.

"And it is because of you we are in this position." Said Caspin as he glared at Javan with a hateful expression.

"We all made that Pact, Caspin." Said Javan as he snapped back.

"If you cannot kill Tygra, then we will." Said Caspin with an emotionless voice.

The other tigers nodded in agreement.

Suddnely a light came behind them and they saw of what appears to be a circle portal with the Ancient Spirits of Evil inside it.

"Tygra is no longer our concern." Said The Spirits.

The tigers were in shock.

"But years ago you told me that-" Said Javan before he was cut off.

"That was before the White Wizard and The Avatar came to Third Earth." Said the Spirits.

"You means those creatures Tygra was with?" Asked Caspin in surprise.

"Yes, the pose an even greater threat then Tygra ever will be, so we will undo the punishment we gave and the heir can be returned if you kill those two boys." Said the Spirits.

They disappeared in a flash.

"That must make you happy, Javan." Said Caspin.

Javan said nothing and glared at Caspin.

The next morning, Tygra got up, saying that he was going to talk to his father, and Carter and Adam bid him goodbye as they know he should talk with him in private.

Once Tygra had left, Adam and Carter went to go out to see where the creature's tracks had and looked out along the path where they had come into the village the night before and was searching for any sign of the tracks of the creatures from the previous night.

But for some unknown reason there was no trace at all.

"Strange." Said Adam as he muttered to himself.

"What is it?" Asked Carter as he was at the entrance to the cave.

Adam continued looking out at the snowy path.

"There are no tracks anywhere, not a single trace." Said Adam.

"Do you think the snow covered it?" Asked Carter as he looked also.

"With snow falling this slowly I doubt it." Said Adam.

They both heard footsteps and looked back to see Tygra approaching them.

"How'd it go with Javan, Tygra?" Asked Carter.

"I had a long talk with Jav—my father." Said Tygra with a smile.

"Maybe this can be a home for me, after all." Said Tygra.

"Your sure?" Asked Carter as he didn't know if Tygra thought this through or not.

Tygra nodded and went back into the cave.

"I don't get it, those creatures that attacked us last night, I looked for their tracks leaving the village and I couldn't find any." Said Adam.

"Maybe they didn't leave outside?" Asked Carter.

"No one ever left the village since we came here." Said Adam.

"Not to hunt, or forage and come to think of it i haven't even seen them eat yet." Said Adam.

Carter remembered they had never at any point ate.

"They don't even attempt to fight back." Said Adam.

"There's something strange about this place." Said Adam as he looked around.

"Best not mention that to Tygra, he's finally happy about having his own kingdom." Said Carter.

Adam nodded in agreement.

"There's something I'm not seeing." Said Adam.

Adam suddenly got an idea and held out his hand to his chest.

"Ancient Power of the War Stone, give me sight beyond sight." Said Adam.

The Stone glowed and Adam began to see a vision of the tigers in the village.

They looked normal but then their forms changed to those of the creatures they saw the other night.

"It can't be." Said Adam.

"What is it?" Asked Carter.

"The tigers, their the monsters." Said Adam as he finished looking.

"He must not know the truth." Said a voice from behind them.

Adam and Carter looked up towards Javan.

"You don't understand how it is for a father." Said Javan.

"How did this happen?" Asked Adam.

Javan sighed and closed his eyes.

"Years ago the tigers were not welcomed into Thundera because we worshiped Mumm-Ra and one day a disease plagued our villaige, knowing the cats were turn their backs on us, we turned to the Ancient Spirits of Evil." Said Javan as he began his tale.

Adam and Carter's eyes widen.

"The same ones that Mumm-Ra called his masters?" Asked Adam in surprise.

Javan nodded.

"We were desperate, the spirits spoke to us, and said they had heard our plea, they said they would grant it on the condition that I slay my son and when I asked them why, they said he would become a threat to the Ancient Spirits, i refused outright, but they produced a knife, saying One life for many and i took the knife, and they instructed me to take Tygra to the highest peak and slay him there, soon after we called to them, our people were cured, all of them were healthy and happy again, and our village was at peace once more but I still had to do what was asked of me, so, I did as the Spirits wanted, and took my son to the highest peak, but, when the time came for me to take his life I couldn't, he was my son, i couldn't let him die, so, instead, I placed him in the basket of a balloon and sent him away, with nothing more than a paper bearing his name and when the Ancient Spirits discovered my betrayal, they put a curse on us." Said Javan as he finished his tale.

"Then the curse can only be broken when you take Tygra's life." Said Adam.

"The real curse for the tigers has been pride." Said Javan.

"We've never been able to overcome it." Said Javan.

"But Tygra is no longer their concern now, they've demanded that we kill you two instead." Said Javan.

This shocked them, why would the Ancient Spirits of Evil want them dead, sure they stopped Mumm-Ra's plans but they never acytally met the spirits themselves.

He looked at them pleadingly.

"You must leave before sunset with Tygra, for my sake, he must never learn the truth." Said Javan.

Adam and Carter shared a glance.

They looked back towards Javan.

"We'll leave, but you'll have to be the one convince Tygra to go with us." Said Carter.

"If we tell him he'll think we're just making it up and will never leave." Said Adam.

Javan nodded.

"I understand." Said Javan as he turned and started walking back to the entrance.

Soon they walked by back to the village and were waiting for Tygra.

They jumped back from when they door just as Tygra opened it.

"What happened?" Asked Adam as he was feigning innocence.

"We're leaving." Replied Tygra as he walked past them.

"You two!" Yelled a voice.

The three of them turned around to see a cloaked Caspin nearby.

"I've a message from Javan." Said Caspin.

"We heard his message." Said Adam as both he and Carter slowly backed as they have a feeling they know what their going to do.

"Oh, I don't think you've heard this one." Said Caspin slyly with a smirk on his face.

Suddenly another cloaked tiger came down from above them and quickly pushing Tygra out of the way as he went straight for Adam and Carter with a crescent-shaped blade.

They dodged the blow easily enough but as Adam reached for his sword the second one hit him hard and he was temporarily stunned.

He fell to the ground, his whip unfurling as he collapsed.

Before Carter could help he was grabbed and thrown to Adam.

They was quickly surrounded by the other tigers with all of them bearing the same kind of blade.

They were just about to strike when Javan suddenly ran out with a knife of his own the swinging of his blade easily pushing them back away from the two.

He looked over to Caspin with a frightening glare, and the tiger stepped back out of fear.

He ran at him faster than he could get away and stabbed him in his side.

Caspin fell to the ground and holding his wound that but strangely he didn't bleed.

"It didn't have to be this way." Said Javan.

"It was the only way." Said Caspin as the wound making it difficult for him to breathe.

He looked up at Javan.

"You betrayed your own clan, you alone brought the curse down upon us and your son will die for actions." Said Caspin.

The other tigers who were with Caspin stepped forward.

Javan turned and growled at them and they stepped back.

He looked back at Caspin.

"Then they'll have to go through me first." Said Javan.

Caspin let out a bitter laugh.

"They won't have to." Said Caspin as he collapsed on the ground with his eyes closed and looking very much dead.

Javan turned to the others.

"You three are in grave danger, these creatures have no conscience no remorse." Said Javan.

"What's going on, Father?" Asked Tygra as he was completely shaken up by the entire ordeal.

"What are you hiding?" Asked Tygra in confusion.

"Tell him, Javan or we will." Said Adam.

"My actions have turned me into a monster." Said Javan solemnly.

"I pray you can forgive me." Said Javan as he let out a tear.

Adam saw through an opening in the mountain that the sun had set.

Tygra watched with wide eyes as the tigers behind Javan began to turn into the monsters they had seen before.

He began to panic as he saw his father begin to undergo the same transformation.

"Father!" Yelled Tygra and was about to run toward him but Adam and Carter held him back.

They watched in horror as Javan turned into one of the hideous black beasts.

It let out a wild cry and they all stepped back.

Everyone saw that as the rest of the village became monstrous and the main fire in the city changed to a purple hue and they saw the faces of the Ancient Spirits of Evil.

Their faces were shadowed by the world they resided in, but they could tell their species easily enough.

One of them was a demon like Mumm-Ra another was a dog and a gorilla and the third was a glaring bird with two beaks.

"Kill them, kill them!" Yelled the spirits in unison and the monsters all began to run at them.

"Tygra, watch out!" Yelled Adam as he was pulling out his sword before slashing away one of the monsters that was about to attack Tygra.

Seeming to snap back to himself Tygra pulled out his whip and started hitting the monsters away.

Carter made sure to keep them at a good distance using the earth around him.

"Can someone explain to me what's going on?!" Yelled Tygra as he knocked away another one of the monsters.

"It's kind of a long story, but basically, your dad had to take your life to save the village!" Yelled Adam as he was swiping.

"He chose to save you instead!" Yelled Adam.

Tygra's eyes widened at this news.

"And as a consequence, the Ancient Spirits of Evil cursed the village and that's why they're like this!" Yelled Adam.

The three of them kept fighting but the monsters seem to be only get stronger as time went on.

Eventually, it got to a point where Adam was fighting off three of them at once and Carter was fighting off four and Tygra was fighting off five.

He took down the last of the ones around him when one of the monsters ran up and grabbed him putting their claws around his throat.

Adam and Carter saw this and tried to get to him but the monsters kept pushing them back.

"Tygra!" Yelled both Adam and Carter.

Tygra recognized the monster as the one his father had turned into.

His yellow eyes glowed brightly in the darkness of the cave and Tygra saw no resemblance to his father in them but he still spoke to him.

"I know…You did what you did out of love." Said Tygra.

He gasped as he was trying to breathe as his father's claws tightened.

"I forgive you." Said Tygra.

Suddenly the bright yellow eyes on the monster began to dim and slowly changed into the eyes of his father.

He stepped back and released Tygra and allowing him to breathe again.

"No, it cannot be!" Yelled the Ancient Spirits from fire pit.

Tygra watched as the monster before him changed back into his father, as did the rest of the monsters.

They all stopped attacking Adam and Carter and were changing to their original forms.

"NO!" Yelled the Ancient Spirits.

Everyone watched with wide eyes as the purple fire began to twist and turn unnaturally, and a huge bream of light began to break through the darkness near the Ancient Spirits as they lost their grasp on the cursed village.

The fire exploded and sending it's pieces of it into the air where they flew around erratically before finally exploding into a purple firework.

Soon the fire began to calm down and returned to its original orange-yellow colour that all fires had.

It seemed the curse that was over the village was gone.

Everyone in the village looked around them as if they were unable to believe that the curse was finally broken.

Javan was no exception as he looked at his hands and was surprised that they weren't still claws.

His face broke into a smile and he looked at his son.

"You did it." Said Javan in disbelief.

"You broke a curse born of pride through an act of humility." Said Javan.

Tygra looked at his father and walked towards him as he kept talking.

"Perhaps if I'd done the same we'd still be together." Said Javan with a smile.

"We're together now, that's all that matters." Said Tygra.

Javan's smile fell from his face.

"I'm afraid it is not to be." Said Javan.

"I don't understand." Said Tygra.

"It's how they survived without food or water." Said Adam as he looked at Javan.

"When the Ancient Spirits cursed you and this place, they must have let the disease back into the village." Said Adam.

He looked back at Tygra.

"I don't think there were any survivors." Said Adam with sadness.

"What are you saying?" Asked Tygra as he looked to his father.

"You're all dead?" Asked Tygra as he was afraid of the answer.

"Not dead but not alive, someplace in between." Said Javan.

"That was the real curse." Said Javan as he looked up at Tygra with a proud smile.

"But you have released us, Tygra, we can go home now." Said Javan.

He reached out and placed his hands on Tygra's shoulders.

"Always remember, son, i will be watching you with pride." Said Javan.

Tygra gazed at his father his heart was breaking just to hear this.

He hung his head sadly before sharing a final embrace with his father.

Suddenly the Spirit Stone began to glow.

What are you telling me to do? Asked Adam in his thought.

Suddenly remembering the Scroll he pulled it out from his hoodie and read about the part of Spirit Stone.

"Stone of the Spirits, please return these spirits to their bodies." Said Adam as he read to what appeared to be an incantation.

Suddenly a pink blast came from the stones and the spirits became flesh again.

Everyone was in shock.

Soon enough everyone left the cave and went their seprerate ways.

Javan promised Tygra that they will meet again.

Most of tigers refused to join Javan because they still blame him for turning his back on them over his own child.

Adam was the last to leave when suddenly he heard something.

He turned around to see the Ancient Spirits of Evil.

Adam sighed.

"Let me guess, your here to say 'I will have my revenge' cliché or something like that?" Asked Adam with a smirk on his face.

"Joke all you want but I will have gained those stones." Said The spirits.

Now Adam was confused.

"I, don't you mean we?" Asked Adam.

Suddenly the spirits formed to became one entity.

That entity was revealed to be Zhan Tiri's demon form!

"Zhan Tiri!" Yelled Adam in surprise.

"Know this little boy, I will obtain all six of the Stones of Power either through you or Mumm-Ra." Said Zhan Tiri.

She soon left with a cackle.

Adam soon caught up with the others but hasn't been paying attention to them much.

Know that he knows Zhan Tiri will attempt to return, finding the Stone will be more difficult.


	21. The Pit

"No, no, let me see." Said a person hiding in a cloak.

"There's got to be something here to buy." Said the person.

The merchant watches as his customer browsing through merchandise and looking for something they did not see.

None of it seem to catch the person's eye.

"What about these?" Asked The merchant as he was holding up something.

The customer gives it a quick glance but left with nothing.

The person continue to rummage through the items.

The customers eyes have scanned every single thing but still could not find anything worthy of purchasing as a gift and sighied in disappointment.

The person tapping a finger on it's chin while pondering and deciding.

Eventually the person decided and picked up the item and pay the merchant.

The person wrapped it up and dart off.

Upon reaching an unknown destination the person it's way down to cells and stopped in one.

"Pumyra, i have something for you." Said the person as the person pass the thing it bought through the bars.

The ThunderTank sped across the flat terrain as they headed to a nearby town.

Once they were close enough to the outskirts of the city and everyone filed out and approached the town.

The town seemed to be some kind of large rock formation that had been dug out to create homes for the citizens of the people.

At the centre of the town was a large semi-circle rock that must have been hollow inside and it had no roof over it.

When they came in they seemed to enter the slums of the city which was filled with dog citizens and no one really paying any attention to the Cats as they came in.

"I say we find the supplies and get out of here." Said Panthro as they walked in.

"Got some real bad memories of this town." Said Panthro.

"You've been uneasy all morning." Said Adam

"What exactly happened here, Panthro?" Asked Adam.

"Forget it, kid." Said Panthro.

"I don't wanna give you nightmares." Said Panthro with a tone that said drop it.

"He's probably just worried about catching fleas from the locals." Said Tygra with a grin.

Adam and Carter rolled their eyes, of course cats would hate dogs.

"Come on, guys, dogs aren't so bad." Said Kit.

"Yeah, we used to hang out with them all the time in the slums of Thundera." Said Kat.

"They made the best bone stew." Said Kat as he started sniffing the air for the food in question.

"Mm, bone stew!" Yelled Kit eagerly.

"Let's find some while we're here!" Yelled Kit.

She and her brother began to separate from the group to look for stew.

"Maybe you two should stay close." Said Cheetara.

"But we can take care of ourselves!" Yelled Kat in annoyance before he and his sister ran off.

Adam kneeled down and gently patted his hand to Snarf's head.

"Just make sure they stay out of trouble, Snarf." Said Adam as Snarf mewed happily and took off after the two kids.

"Hey guys, look at this." Said Tygra as he called their attention.

They went over to where he was and saw a poster depicting a female Cat holding a spear and shield and was looking very fierce.

In the background behind her was what looked a coliseum.

There were some words written but it wasn't a language that Adam nor Carter could know.

"A cat, what's she doing here?" Asked Adam.

"She must have survived the fall of Thundera." Said Cheetara.

Adam reached up and tore the poster off the wall where it had been placed and looked over it.

"Now all she has to do is survive The Pit." Said Panthro as he looked at the poster as well.

Now everyone was confused, what was the Pit?

It was starting as the crowd roaring and barking.

Perfect, that meant they where preoccupied. Thought the person.

Still wearing a cloak the person slipped out from the guards.

The person had to be careful though if it got caught then it would have to face The Pit Master.

Although actually, I would have to face him. Thought the person.

Maybe now he'll see I can handle myself and was capable. Thought the person as it know that if a noise was made, then the person would be found.

And maybe I'll finally be allowed them to be part of games. Thought the person again in excitement.

The person went to the armoury to gain a weapon.

The person heard Puymara's taunting at the guards, and accidently toppled it over and causing it to crash and fall and drawing attention.

The person heard footsteps of the guards coming over and was discovered with the pile of weapons underneath it.

Everyone saw three other dog, and a strange, teal-colored robot.

The dogs all had spears and shields but the robot appeared to be unarmed.

They walked up the steps and found some seats in the stadium with Adam sat next to Panthro and Tygra and Carter sat next to Cheetara.

They watched as the three dogs ran at the robot and hitting him across his face.

A second one came around from his side and was trying to jab him but the robot grabbed it and landed a hard punch in the dog's side and flinging him into the wall of the stadium to where he crashed with a whimper.

The two other dogs still remained standing as they were still ready to fight.

They went on either side of the metal fighter and he reached up and removed his head to reveal it was a sort of spiked metal ball.

He flung his head at one of the dogs and it rolled at a high velocity as it was easily knocking him out and up into the air.

The head kept rolling until it hit the wall to where it used the leverage it got to thrust itself forward barreling into the last remaining dog and defeating him.

The head came rolling back to the body it came from and it held up the head as some metal coiling on its back began to spark wildly in the robot's victory.

The crowd's cheers were thunderous with howling and cheering loudly for the robot.

"This is The Pit." Said Panthro after the match was over.

"It's where slaves and criminals fight to survive." Said Panthro.

"And to entertain, like I needed another reason not to like dogs." Said Tygra as he glared at the dogs behind him.

Adam looked down at the poster he still held that had the picture of the Cat.

He looked over at the dog next to him.

"Who's in charge?" Asked Adam.

The dog pointed up at an elevated balcony near a tower that was shaded under a tarp.

He got up and started heading back down and the others followed.

They went to the top and they walked through to see a single chair resting on the balcony and they could see the back of some dog's head sitting there.

Adam marched forward towards him and held out the poster to him.

"What do you know about this cat?" Asked Adam.

The dog turned his head to face Adam and had a look of shock when he saw him.

"She's a fighter." Said the dog as his voice was deep and gravelly.

"Belongs to me." Said the dog like it was simple.

"She doesn't 'belong' to anyone." Said Tygra as he snapped and walked over.

The dog let a slightly terrifying smirk come onto his face.

"That so?" Asked the dog.

"Yeah, she's a free cat now, so we'll be taking her with us." Said Tygra.

A low growl sounded in the back of the dog's throat and he stood up and was showing everyone that he was well over six foot five with a slim but very muscular body.

He looked like a breed of Doberman.

He easily towered over everyone and glared down at Tygra.

"You're welcome to try." Said the dog as his fingers twitched at his sides as if getting ready for a fight.

Adam hesitated as he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold his own against him.

"Don't let him scare you, Adam." Said Panthro from behind them.

"Uh, stay out of it, Panthro." Said Carter but Panthro didn't seem to listen.

"He may have been tough once, but now he's too old and scrawny!" Yelled Panthro as he walked up the dog as he glared at him.

"Oh, brother." Said Tygra with a sigh as he was shaking his head.

Adam and Carter were hoping this wouldn't leave to a fight, but knowing their luck it was likely.

The dog snarled angrily.

"You filthy little fur ball!" Yelled the dog.

Panthro let out a growl of his own.

"You stupid, ugly mutt!" Yelled Panthro back.

The stood there while glaring and growling for a moment before they both reached out and tightly grasped the other's hand with smiles coming onto their faces.

Panthro chuckled.

"Been a long time, Dobo." Said Panthro.

"A lifetime, Panthro." Said Dobo as he patted Panthro on the shoulder.

"I can see that!" Yelled Panthro as he was patting Dobo's shoulder as well.

"Are they friends?" Asked Carter as he was looking at the pair with wide eyes.

"I can't tell." Replied Adam as he turned to him as he was just as surprised as he was.

Dobo turned to Adam.

"You wanna see your cat, well, you're just in time." Said Dobo as he pointed down at the arena,

"She's up against Gormax next." Said Dobo.

The Robot?! Yelled both Adam and Carter in their minds.

Everyone else moved over to the side of the balcony to look down at the stadium.

They watched as one of the barred doors opened up, and out stepped the cat from the poster.

She had orange and brown fur with orange eyes that was pulled back into a ponytail and the end of it looking as though it had been dipped in white and the two long strands of her hair that hung on either side of her face were the same.

"She doesn't have a chance against that thing." Said Adam as he was watching as she walked into the stadium and was about to face her opponent.

"We'll see soon enough." Said Dobo as he was looking down at the stadium with a confident grin.

They all watched as Gormax pulled off his head and flung it at her and she quickly dodged it.

The head began to turn around, and again she dodged as it moved back into the body and hitting the open spot where the head connected to the body with a huge blast of sparks.

Again he reached for his head and threw it and again she dodged but this time she managed to grab a few small stones that had been lying on the ground and she held them in her hand.

She pressed a small switch on the large band she wore on her wrist and a small bow appeared as she pulled it back with one of the pebbles and fired it straight into the hole where the head and body of Gormax connected.

She shot in two more for good measure and one of them must have hit something because suddenly Gormax's body let out a stream of sparks and fire and collapsed on the ground.

The crowd cheered wildly as she came out victorious and jumping on top of the immobile body and holding her fist up to the crowd who all howled and hollered at the show she had just given them.

The others looked at her with wide eyes as they were surprised she was able to beat something like that so easily and so quickly that the dogs earlier couldn't.

"And Pumyra wins again." Said Dobo with a triumphant grin on his face.

"You cats train your soldiers well, that warrior is making me a fortune!" Yelled Dobo in delight.

Down below two huge guards came over to her and were binding her hands together with handcuffs and leading her back inside the stadium.

Adam turned to Dobo.

"Let us buy her freedom." Said Adam.

Before Dobo could reply a scream was heard.

"Let me go, let me, go!" Yelled a person.

All eyes turn around just as two guard Dogs come into Dobo's balcony.

Carrying the hooded figure and was restraining it.

"Sorry sir, but, we caught her again." Said one of the guards to Dobo.

Dobo sighs and walks over to the hooded figure and snatches it right off.

Exposing the person.

Dobo eyes look down at the figure with a furious scold on and crossing his arms while tapping a finger.

The others where shocked at who stood before them.

The figure glared up at Dobo.

The person was a female girl who has a pale skin with dark pink lips, hazel eyes and black bob-cut layered hair with gray highlights.

Her outfit is a grayish-brown shirt with black leather gloves and a dark brown belt with a small teal purse and a dagger on it with dark brown-and-red striped leggings and brown boots.

She looked no older than Adam or Carter.

It was hard not to stare at her since the only other human since coming to Third Earth was Andrea.

She noticed them looking and turned her head away.

She finally wriggle her way out of the guards hold and rush over to the balcony.

She slamed a fist down which hurt but she tries to hide it.

"I missed it, that could have been me in there!" Yelled the woman in anger.

"What?!" Asked Cheetara in disbelief.

"She wants to be in the fights." Replied Dobo.

"I've been dying to be part of it, since I was little." Said the woman.

"I've been dreaming for some sort of combat!" Yelled the woman in excitement.

"But you know you're not allowed." Said Dobo as he growled.

The woman turned her back to him and huffed.

"My guard dog here won't let me." Said the woman.

Dobo grabs the woman by the collar of her clothing and lifts her up with one hand and letting her dangle in the air.

"L-Let me go!" Yelled the woman as she felt embarrassed of being treated like a child.

Dobo snarled in anger.

"You went for the weapons again, didn't you, you where going to sneak in to be part of the fights again, weren't you?" Asked Dobo in frustrations.

The woman swong around to get out of his grasp.

"But i'm old enough, I can fight!" Yelled the woman.

The others just stand there as they felt uncomfortable watching the bickering unfold before them.

The way Dobo talked to her like he was overbearing and upset like a parent.

Both of them glaring at each other until the woman looked away.

"I mean it Cassandra, you're only allowed to train, do I make myself clear?" Asked Dobo.

Cassandra roll her eyes.

"Cassandra!" Yelled Dobo as his voice raises.

"Alright, yes, I'm sorry." Said Cassandra.

Dobo shoots her a quick warning look before placing her back down.

"Me and your mother will be talking to you tonight, young lady." Said Dobo.

"So, who's that?" Asked Panthro to loose the awkwardness in the air.

"This is Cassandra, my daughter." Replied Dobo.

Now everybody was in shock, how can a male dog have a human daughter?

"She was found not to far away from the City, brought in and she's been raised here ever since with me and my wife, she's a feisty one."

"We can see that." Said Adam with a awkward chuckle.

Cassandra eyes search the empty arena watching the crowd exiting.

"Wait!" Yelled Cassandra as she realized something and turned around to face Dobo.

"Did she win?!" Asked Cassandra with an anxious tone.

He gives her a small smile.

"Don't worry. Puymra won." Replied Dobo.

Cassandra smiled as she let out a sigh of relief.

"Now what were we saying?" Asked Dobo as he forgot the conversation was going earlier.

"We were asking to buy her freedom." Replied Adam.

"With what, she'll earn her freedom if she survives one hundred fights." Said Dobo like it was common knowledge.

"It'd be a shame if she escaped before that." Said Tygra with a hidden threating tone it.

Dobo let out a feral growl, glaring at him.

He turned and looked back at Panthro.

"Make sure your friend doesn't do anything stupid, Panthro." Said Dobo as he was walking off of the balcony to go and collect the money he had made off of bets for fights.

He looked back.

"Cassandra, why don't you give our guests a tour of the city." Said Dobo.

"Sure dad." Said Cassandra.

He soon walked off completely without saying another word.

Tygra glared at his back and began to march after him but he was stopped when Panthro placed his hand on his shoulder.

"The lizards are bad enough." Said Panthro.

"We can't afford a war with the dogs, too." Said Panthro.

Tygra turned to look back at the stadium just as Pumyra was being led back into the rooms where the prisoners were kept.

"She's a ThunderCat, Panthro, i won't let her be a slave." Said

"You might have to." Said Cheetara.

Tygra looked at her with wide eyes.

"I'm sure she can survive on her own." Said Adam.

"You can't be serious." Said Tygra in shock.

"We'll deal with this another time." Said Carter.

Cassandra came up to them.

"Come on, I might as well give you that 'grand tour'." Said Cassandra as she walked off.

Everyone followed after that.

Cassandra show them around town.

"And there is candy shop, that over there is the market." Said Canssandra with an emotionless tone in her voice.

They follow her until one of the cats slipped away.

"Some one seems happy." Said Adam as he noticed Panthro's smile on his face.

"I still can't believe Dobo has a family." Said Panthro as he was still in shock.

"Never thought he would ever have a wife a child." Said Panthro as she shook his head in disbelief.

"A lot can change when your gone for so long." Said Carter as he came up.

Still Adam and Carter couldn't believe it either, a possible human ally on Third Earth but if she was raised on Third Earth, then where are the other humans?

Finally everyone came back to The Pit.

"And that's everything." Said Cassandra.

"Thank you, for the tour." Said Cheetara as she spoke for the others.

Cassandra looked at Panthro.

"You and dad both fought here, you must be a great warrior as not many come out there, alive." Said Cassandra.

"Didn't Dobo tell you the stories about me?" Asked Panthro as he was afraid of what she thought of him

"Him and my mother, they told me you left them." Said Cassandra.

Panthro looks down regretfully and then wondered, who was Dobo's wife and Cassandra's mother.

"So how do you know Pumyra?" Asked Carter to avoid another awkwardness.

"Oh she's my trainer for fighting." Said Cassandra.

For some reason she felt comfortable around them because they were like her.

"She's your trainer and a prisoner?" Asked Adam in confusion.

"I guess that's one way to look at it." Said Cassandra as she hadn't thought of that.

"So who's your mom?" Asked Carter as he realized they never met her yet.

"Sorry, but there are some things I can't tell you." Said Cassandra.

Understanding that Adam and Carter turned back and noticed something.

"Where's Tygra?" Asked Adam.

Everyone looked around but didn't see him.

"You don't think he-" Said Carter before realizing.

"Oh cripes." Said Panthro as he held his hand to his head.

Once they arrived at The Pit the guards wouldn't let them in saying that it was closed but once Panthro told them that they needed to see Dobo about Tygra one of them went to go see him and a little while later the guard came back with Dobo in front of him.

In Dobo's hands was an all-too-familiar blue whip with red jewels on it.

"Your friend did something stupid." Saod Dobo as he was handing the whip to Panthro.

"That's our friend you've got in there, Dobo!" Yelled Panthro.

"He tried to steal from me, Panthro." Said Dobo in a calm voice.

"Would you rather I turn him over to the authorities, in The Pit, at least he's got a chance of getting out." Said Dobo as he looked away.

"After he wins a hundred fights." Said Adam.

Dobo looked back.

"Since Panthro's a friend, I'll make an exception, if Tygra wins, he's free." Said Dobo.

"And if he loses?" Asked Cheetara as she turned to Panthro as she didn't want to hear the awnser.

"Remind me again how you know this friend?" Asked Cheetara.

Panthro sighed.

"A long time ago, Dobo and I met in The Pit, i was a prisoner of war and he was a thief, for matches we were usually paired as a team." Said Panthro as he let out a short bitter chuckle.

"Guess they thought it was funny to see a Cat and Dog fighting together." Said Panthro as he looked back.

"What about Dobo's wife, Cassandra said you left her too." Said Adam in curiousty.

Panthro looked at Dobo.

"I'm right aren't I, it's Lilly." Said Panthro.

Dobo nodded.

Panthro took a deep breath before continuing.

"A female cat was recently aresseted and the Pit Master before Dobo deicided to throw her with us for fun, over time we had a what you call an open reletionship." Said Panthro.

Now this took Adam and Carter by surprise, a female cat was willing to be with a dog and cat at the same time?!

Dobo nodded in agreement with Panthro.

"We beat everything they threw at us, no matter how nasty." Said Panthro.

"While most warriors die here, Dobo somehow rose up to run the place." Said Panthro as he was looking at Dobo.

"Only slave that's ever done that." Said Dobo.

"I owe it all to Panthro, he was like a brother to me, i wouldn't have lasted a day if he hadn't taught me how to survive." Said Dobo.

"That's not true, we survived together." Said Panthro.

Dobo nodded once.

"Indeed." Said Dobo as his eyes narrowed slightly as he glared at Panthro.

"Until that morning me and Lilly woke up and found out you escaped." Said Dobo as he turned his back on Panthro and was looking up at the walls of The Pit.

"I always regretted leaving you two behind like that." Said Panthro with regret in his voice.

"No, it was the best thing you could have done." Said Dobo.

"I was naïve to have expected loyalty from someone I thought was friend, I learned that day I was going to have to earn my freedom for myself and for Lilly." Said Dobo as he looked back at the group.

"If your friend wants his freedom, he can fight for it, too!" Yelled Dobo as he clenched his fist.

Cassandra was a little scared of seeing this new side of her father.

That evening everyone returned to The Pit, and Dobo let them onto his balcony to watch the match with a person standing next to Dobo and holding his hand.

Cassandra was with them too.

As the gates opened and Tygra and Pumyra stepped out and the crowd of dogs let out loud cheers and howls as eager to see the match.

"It's a rare treat to see two Cats tear each other apart." Said Dobo.

"The crowd's excited." Said Dobo as the person nodded in agreement.

"Too bad two Cats won't kill each other for some Dogs sick pleasure." Said Cheetara.

Dobo let out a laugh.

"I have yet to see display such loyalty from your group." Said Dobo.

He glanced at Panthro when he said this and the cat said nothing in return.

The person looked back at him with digust and hatred.

As the two of them approached each other in the arena they exchanged some words to each other but they couldn't here what they were saying.

Pumyra loaded up her bow, and starting firing at Tygra, who brought up his shield to defend himself.

Once the onslaught was finished Pumyra grabbed a new handful of stones and fired them off again.

She made sure to stay in the air and out of his range of attack as she came closer.

When she came close enough to Tygra she began to attack him, roundhouse-kicking against the shield he put up in defence.

Once she had kicked it out of the way she prepared to fire at him again.

Tygra quickly defended himself but he wasn't as prepared as he was the first time, and he lost his balance and fell back.

Pumyra came up in front of him again, and again Tygra held up his shield.

Pumyra grabbed a sling from her side and put in a handful of stones, spinning it around to build up velocity.

Tygra just took a few steps back as he was keeping his shield raised.

"Why isn't he fighting back?!" Asked Adam as his hands were gripping at the balcony.

Pumyra threw the sling at Tygra and instead of just hitting him she made sure to knock the weapon out of his hands and throwing it well out of his reach.

The sling then came back like a boomerang after Tygra.

He only ran for a few paces before the sling wrapped around his ankles and binding them and making him fall to the ground.

The crowd howled and cheered at Pumyra's clear victory in the match.

Her voice was muffled as the stadium cheered.

She kicked him in the face and knocked him over.

As he got up, she kicked him down again, and again, and again.

"Then you will die!" Yelled Pumyra as she kicked him down again, making this the first time she's heard.

"Stay down and I might end this mercifully!" Yelled Pumyra.

Tygra did no such thing and got up again while holding his side to where she had kicked him.

"Very well, you can suffer as your people did!" Yelled Pumyra.

She punched him down again and the crowd booed the fight as they wanting Tygra to fight back.

"Does he have to be punished for what you think I did?!" Yelled Panthro in anger.

"Should we be the only one, old pal?" Asked the feminine voice,

"When you ran, you didn't just leave us behind, you left behind all the enemies we had made together, I was tramatized when it was over." Said the feminine voice again.

Dobo held her as she silently cried in his chest.

Cassandra glared at Panthro for that.

Adam and Carter belive this was Lilly they heard mentioned earlier.

"I ran because I learned my fight the next day was a death match!" Yelled Panthro said.

"So? It wouldn't have been your first." Said Dobo as he scoffed.

"It was going to be between you and me." Said Panthro.

Dobo's eyes widened for a fraction of a second but then narrowed as he looked at him.

"You were afraid you couldn't beat me?" Asked Dobo.

"No, I was afraid I'd have to and Lilly would be heartbroken regardless of what I would do." Replied Panthro.

Dobo's eyes widened again as did Lilly in realization.

Below in the stadium Pumyra kicked Tygra down again and he tumbled along the ground.

Once he stopped he began to push himself up with shaking arms but stopped when two stones were fired at him.

They missed him by just a hair.

He looked up at Pumyra, and saw she held the string of her bow taut.

She was breathing heavily with the effort she had put into this fight.

"Why do you keep getting up?!" Yelled Pumyra in confusion and anger.

Tygra pushed himself to his feet with a groan.

"I said I'd stand by you." Said Tygra weakly.

"And I intend to." Said Tygra.

Pumyra still held the bow taut as she was looking at Tygra with wide disbelieving eyes.

Everyone in the crowd watched on the edge of their seat as they were waiting to see if Pumyra would deliver the final blow or not.

Cheetara was afraid that she might loose Tygra.

After a moment Pumyra opened her hand but not to loose the stone but to drop it.

She tucked the bow away into the band on her wrist and she turned to the balcony where Dobo stood.

"I will not kill my species, Dobo!" Yelled Pumyra.

"And I will not hurt a fellow Cat!" Yelled Tygra.

Dobo looked at the two.

"The penalty for forfeiting is death." Said Dobo with an emotionless voice.

They both nodded in acceptance to it but the crowd booed at his choice.

Soon a chant began to come out of the crowd, shouting to the let them live.

Dobo let a small grin come onto his face and he turned to Panthro.

"It seems loyalty is not only a trait of the dogs and married couples." Said Dobo.

He turned back to the two of them and spoke loudly so his voice would be heard over the crowd.

"You have earned my respect, you both leave this arena as free Cats." Said Dobo.

The crowd cheered wildly at his choice.

The two of them headed for the exit and the group left balcony.

Cassandra was about to leave when Dobo stopped her.

"Cassandra." Said Dobo.

Cassandra turned around to look at him.

"I think it's best you go with them." Said Dobo as he made his choice also.

Cassandra's eyes widened at what he said.

"Honey." Said Lilly in surprise.

"I decided that maybe you need to be out there instead of being trapped, and who knows maybe you'll have advnetures, just know you'll always be welcomed back and will always be our daughter." Said Dobo with a smile.

Cassandra ran up to Dobo and hugged him tightly before running off to pack.

Lilly giggled as she took down her hood.

She was a purple cat with hazel like eyes with a black jumpsuit on.

"You keep on surprise me Dobo, marrying me, a cat, adopting a child and now letting her go." Said Lilly.

Dobo sighed.

"She has to grow up sometime." Said Dobo as he leaned down and kissed Lilly on the lips.

Soon everyone went went to the tank and got some medical supplies for Tygra.

Pumyra began to wrap the bandages around Tygra's arm.

"Maybe you know how to act like a king after all." Said Pumyra as she was giving him an apologetic smile.

"Oh I'm not the king, Adam is." Said Tygra as he pointed to Adam.

She looked and saw Adam and Carter.

"Adam Ordeis." Said Adam.

"Carter Vamir." Said Carter as he introduced himself.

"I guess that saves introductions for later." Said a voice over them.

They looked over to see Cassandra with a bag of her own.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Panthro in surprise.

"I'm going with you lot, and I got permission to go with you all if you want to check with my dad." Said Cassandra with a smirk.

Panthro groaned as they had another kid to be part of the group and reminds himself to ask Dobo when he get's back.

Tygra looks at Pumyra.

"You said you were among other Cat slaves, where?" Asked Tygra as he needed to know.

"A mining operation, there, in Mount Plun-Darr." Said Pumyra as she pointed a huge mountain just in front of them.

They all looked at the mountain with a new mission, to free the slaves and rebuild the Cat Nation.


	22. Curse of Ratilla

The ThunderTank thundered along the ground as they headed towards Mount Plun-Darr.

As they rode Pumyra began to give some details as to what they were made to do, and who it was that told them to do it.

From what they could understand they were basically rats.

The tank slowly came to a stop and everyone stepped out seeing they were a pretty good distance from the mountain.

Everyone filed out and was making sure that none of the rats on guard would be able to see them and carefully moving from rock to rock.

Soon, they reached the blind spot and snuck past their surveillance and going near the slave camps.

They looked down as they watched Cat slaves going in and out of tunnels and all of them exhausted and tired as they moved around the mining gear and supplies.

"I can't stand to see our people treated like this." Said Cheetara in disgust.

"Try living it." Said Pumyra.

"For months I suffered lashings from those rodents, we gave up hope of being saved long ago." Said Pumyra as she glared at the others.

"Today they will go free, that's a promise." Said Tygra.

"You say it's the Sword of Plun-Darr that old rat is digging for?" Asked Panthro.

Pumyra nodded.

"If what I learned through the Book of Omens is true, its power rivals my own sword." Said Adam as he looked down at his sword and gauntlet.

"If Mumm-Ra finds that weapon, it may not matter if we get to the other stones first." Said Adam.

Adam looked at the others.

"That why I have to find that Sword and Gauntlet before those Rats or Mumm-Ra does." Said Adam.

"By yourself?" Asked Panthro in shock.

"I'm the only one who's ever seen the sword, there I have to be the one to find it." Said Adam as he stood up.

"Not by yourself your not, I'm going with you." Said Carter as he stood up.

Cassandra stood up.

"And you'll need me because I have this." Said Cassandra as she held up a scroll.

"What's that?" Asked Adam.

"It's a map of their tunnel system, I swiped it from them a few weeks ago." Replied Cassandra.

"When?" Asked Carter in suspicion.

"Oh, not important." Said Cassandra as she unrolled the scroll to reveal the tunnel system.

"Fine, you can come too." Said Adam with a sigh.

"Okay so that's our plan: Tygra, Cheetara, Panthro and Pumyra, you focus on freeing your kind while me, Carter and Cassandra try to find the Sword and Gauntlet before the Rats does." Said Adam.

Everyone nodded and they split up.

After some more sneaking around, Cassandra got a hold of three cloaks for she, Adam, and Carter to wear and Carter got three pairs of handcuffs.

Their plan was to sneak in with the slaves to get to the dig site where they could find the Sword of Plun-Darr.

As they were walking in the lines with the slaves Carter turned to them.

"This is a terrible idea, by the way." Said Carter.

"I'm with Carter." Said Cassandra from behind him.

"We could have just snuck around the guards!" Yelled Cassandra.

"This is the only we could sneak right into their mining without causing a commotion." Said Adam.

He held up his hand.

"Besides, these chains aren't even locked." Said Adam.

"You three!" Yelled A voice from behind them.

They all froze as well as the rest of the line.

One of the rat guards came up to them, looking over their appearances.

They lowered their heads a little, trying to hide their appearances from him but also looking a little afraid of getting cute.

The rat looked at their wrists and began to lock the handcuffs.

"That's better, wouldn't want you running off and getting hurt." Said the rat.

The guard moved away and began to inspect the cuffs of the slaves behind them in order to make sure there was nothing wrong with them and the two girls turned and glared at Adam.

He shrugged sheepishly.

"At least this will make our disguises more convincing." Said Adam.

Both Cater and Cassandra sighed.

Soon it didn't take them much longer after that to reach the dig site and they joined a huge group of Cats.

As they were walking in a few Rats came up from below, saying that the last cave in had been cleared, and it would be easy for them to enter.

"All right, who's next?" Asked the guard to a crowd of slaves.

A fearful murmur flowed through the crowd as all Cats staying close to their loved ones in the group.

The Rat sighed.

"Don't all jump at once." Said The rat sarcastically.

At the rate we're losing Cats, you'll all get your chance." Said The Rat as his eyes scanned through the crowd,

"How about-" Said the guard before being cut off.

"We'll go." Said Adam.

The crowd of slaves gasped in surprise as they stepped forward.

"Finally some brave Cats." Said the head Rat.

"Let's see if your cockiness saves you from the sword's curse." Said the head rat.

Two guards went over and unlocked their handcuffs, and they walked out onto the platform.

The Rats hit a switch and it started to lower down further underground.

Once they were completely out of sight and surveillance, they removed the cloaks.

"Did he say 'curse'?" Asked Cassandra.

"It's probably just superstition to keep the slaves scared." Said Carter.

"I hope you're right." Said Cassandra as she was looking around the tunnel.

"I don't think it's wise to think that, after all we are in a world filled with anthropomorphic animals who can wield magic and I hold two magic stones." Said Adam as he pointed out.

Carter let out a scoff.

"Yeah, right." Said Carter.

Suddenly the thick rope holding up the platform snapped and they all began to plummet down the hole.

As they fell Carter used his earth powers to create pillars to hold them.

The three of them hung there while the platform continued to plummet and crashed on the ground with a loud bang.

Adam turned to Carter with a small glare.

"No curse, huh?" Asked Adam sarcastically.

Carter shrugged.

"I can admit when i'm wrong." Said Carter.

Carter lifted up his hand, and waved it down to move the pillars down to the bottom of the tunnel.

Once they were there Cassandra pulled out a large glow stick to act as a light as they went through the tunnel with Cassandra holding the map.

Adam kept glancing back uneasily at the crashed platform.

"What are looking for?" Asked Carter as he noticed Adam looking around.

"The Cats who died down here." Replied Adam as he was wary of this curse as the other two.

"Technically we've only heard that Cats died, it's not like they had proof." Said Cassandra.

She looked at the remains of a cave in and was seeing the skeleton of someone had been pierced by a stone.

She turned back to the others.

"Never mind." Said Cassandra.

The tunnel suddenly began to shake and rumble as more stalactites fell from the ceiling of the tunnel and everyone began to run from it towards a more covered part of the dig site.

They dashed as quickly as they could to the end of the tunnel and once they were all in safely as the rumbling stopped and the stalagmites no longer fell.

Everyone was panting from the sudden mad dash they had done.

"Guys, look." Said Adam as he pointed to a large red crystal ahead of them with it inside the Sword of Plun-Darr.

"How did the Sword of Plun-Darr get in there?" Asked Cassandra.

"Who cares, lets just find out on how to get it out and how to destroy it." Said Carter.

Adam reached out and touched the crystal where the sword was placed.

He closed his eyes as he took in the feeling of the magic surrounding it.

"I can sense a strong energy around it, but it's not evil, it's more like there's a coating of energy over the really dark energy that the sword has." Said Adam as he pulled his hand back from the crystal and opening his eyes.

"So how do we get it out?" Asked Carter.

"I know this is going to sound really weird, but I think the Sword of Omens." Said Adam as he pulled out his sword from his gauntlet and it was glowing a blue aura while at the same time the Sword of Plun-Darr was making a purple aura, as though it knew it was here.

"The Sword of Plun-Darr is made of the same metal as my Sword of Omens and the magic feels like it flows through me." Said Adam.

He grasped his sword and lengthening it. 

It glowed as he thrust it at the crystal into right where the object was and it shattered and leaving a hole just big enough for the object which revealed itself to be the Gauntlet of Plun-Darr to rest in.

"I guess all that nonsense about this thing being—" Said Cassandra before she was cut off.

Adam scowled at her and he glared firmly back at her/

"Do. Not. Taunt. The. Curse." Said Adam in firmness.

Cassandra rolled her eyes but said nothing as she reached up and tried to pull the gauntlet from the crystal. 

When she couldn't get it out, Adam and Carter grabbed other sides of it to help her pull it out. 

They all gave a hard tug, and it came out from where it was trapped. 

They smiled at their success, but they quickly disappeared as the tunnel began to shake again and rocks began to fall.

"Should we make a run for it?!" Asked Cassandra in fear.

"Don't need to!" Yelled Adam.

He lifted up his hand and the Spirit Stone glowed to create a shield to protect them from the falling rocks.

They all hit the ground around the shield but never the shield itself.

After a moment the boulders stopped and so did the shaking. 

There was nothing but silence now.

"I think it stopped." Said Adam as he lowered the shield.

They looked out at the fallen boulders.

They were unable to believe they survived something like that.

Soon enough all three reached down and picked up the large gauntlet. 

Because of its size, it was a little hard to carry it.

When they reached the top they found it was empty of both slaves and guards and wondered where they were.

"They must have fled when the earthquake started, hopefully the others helped them already." Said Adam.

They continued walking through the mountain and were finding it was completely empty of any and all rats. 

As they reached the exit they saw a huge crowd of Cats walking away from the mountain and there were no chains on them and they all seemed happy.

They kept walking towards where the crowd was coming from and saw Panthro taking off the chains of different slaves. 

When it came down to the last one his chains fell down into a huge pile.

He rubbed his wrists as he was feeling the skin that had rested underneath the metal and smiled at Tygra.

"Thank you." Said the cat gratefully as Tygra told him the recent news to slaves about a new king.

"Ratar-O fled back underground." Said Tygra.

"You'll be safe in the old settlement just outside the ruins of Thundera." Said Tygra.

The Cat nodded and bowed in gratitude before walking away to join the others.

"That's every cat accounted for, except for Adam, Carter and Cassandra." Said Panthro as he sighed.

"What if they couldn't find the sword?" Asked Cheetara in worry.

"As if there was any doubt." Said Adam from behind. 

The others looked back and everyone smiled when they saw Adam, Carter and Cassandra holding the gauntlet.

"It seems things go well on your end." Said Adam as he looked at the slaves walking off into the tunnels.

"Well enough." Said Tygra as he shrugged.

Everyone looked down at the Sword of Plun-Darr. 

"Is that?" Asked Tygra.

Adam nodded.

"Mumm-Ra's sword." Said Adam.

"This isn't a weapon for Cats to wield." Said Cheetara.

"We need to take this somewhere and hide it, maybe the Tower of Omens and we need to do it before Mumm-Ra finds out we dug it up." Said Adam as he looked down at the sword.

"It's too late for that." Said Panthro.

Everyone looked up and saw him pointing to the horizon where a huge army was approaching the mountain and they were armed to the teeth. 

Everyone's eyes had widened.

How could Mumm-Ra have found out already?


	23. Clash of Blades

Everyone looked out over the cliff as they watched the huge army get closer and closer to the mountain.

Panthro was trying to get a better guess at their numbers by looking through a scope.

"How could they have found us?!" Asked Adam in surprise.

"Too late to worry about that now." Said Panthro as he was putting the scope down.

"But if we move fast, we might be able to slip past them using the same trail as the cat slaves." Said Panthro.

"Are you crazy, do you want to bring Mumm-Ra right to them, we didn't free our people just to see them slaughtered!" Yelled Pumyra in anger.

"Do you have a better plan?" Asked Adam.

Pumyra said nothing.

"I have, if it's the Sword of Plun-Darr and gauntlet he's after, let's use them to draw his forces into the mines." Said Cassandra.

"I know its tunnel system better than anyone, it'll give the slaves time to escape." Said Cassandra.

"If we're caught, Mumm-Ra will have everything he needs to rule Third Earth." Said Panthro.

"Then let's not get caught." Said Cassandra.

She turned to Adam and Carter.

"I know it's dangerous but you can stop Mumm-Ra on your own." Said Cassandra.

Carter looked while Adam was quiet for a moment and then sighed and then nodded.

She went over to where the Sword of Plun-Darr was laying and picked it up.

It had been wrapped up and covered in leather straps so it would be easier to carry.

Adam went over and took it from her and putting it on his back.

"Panthro, I want you, Tygra, Cheetara, and Pumyra to get to the tank." Said Adam.

"Cassandra, Carter and I will catch up after we lose them in the mines." Said Adam.

Everyone was shocked at his choice.

"Are you sure you want to risk this?" Asked Panthro in concern.

"I don't want your emotions to-" Said Panthro before he got cut off.

"I'm sure." Said Adam firmly.

Panthro nodded once and they headed for the entrance to the tunnels.

Adam pulled out a torch to light their path as they got to the parts of the tunnels where sunlight couldn't shine through as well as Carter making fire from his hands.

The walls were covered in the red crystals that encompassed the mountain.

Some of them were as small the head of a nail and others were as thick.

Suddenly everyone stopped when a purplish glow out of the sword and was shining through the covering that was around it.

"That can't be good." Said Carter.

"What's it doing?" Asked Cassandra as she was looking at the sword curiously.

"The sword is connected to Mumm-Ra, I think he's calling to it." Said Adam as he glared at it over his shoulder.

"It's evil. I can feel it, all the death and destruction it took to create it." Said Adam.

He shook his head as he didn't want to remember that memory.

"We need to keep moving." Said Adam.

Cassandra continued walking through the tunnels with Adam and Carter following her as they moved through the darkened tunnels.

"These tunnels all look the same, you sure you know where you're going?" Asked Adam

"I'm sure." Said Cassandra simply.

"Let's just focus on staying ahead of Mumm-Ra's generals." Said Carter.

Suddenly the wall of the tunnel exploded and letting in a huge cloud of smoke as well as some sunlight.

When the smoke cleared they saw a grinning Kaynar and Andrea waiting for them with a small platoon of lizard soldiers.

He glanced over at Adam and saw the glowing blade strapped to his back.

He wagged his finger mockingly at him.

"Ah-ah-ah, that sword doesn't belong to you." Said Kaynar as he walked closer.

"Maybe not, but this one does." Said Adam as he pulled out the Sword of Omens.

Kaynar let a wide grin come onto his face.

"Your like Andrea, a toy that never breaks." Said Kaynar as Andrea blushed.

He let out his signature maniacal laugh and launched himself towards him.

"I love it!" Yelled Kaynar.

Once Kaynar was fighting with Adam, the lizards opened fire on Carter and Cassandra.

Andrea noticed Cassandra.

"Who's the new girl?" Asked Andrea.

Carter held up his hands and let out a ball of fire.

"None of your business." Said Carter as he launched his fire balls at Andrea who managed to dodge them with her magic.

Cassandra did her best to dodge the plasma shots and she fought back any that were coming towards her.

After a minute of straight fighting Adam called them over to him and they both stood on either side.

"Stay close." Said Adam as he lifted up his sword and a red beam shot out of the Eye of Thundera and the beam travelling along the side of the tunnel wall and forcing back the soldiers, Kaynar and Andrea in order to avoid getting crushed by the rocks that came tumbling down.

"Are you trying to kill us?!" Yelled Cassandra as the walls began to crumble.

"Trust me!" Yelled Adam.

As some of the boulders above them began to fall Adam lifted his hand and the Spirit Stone and it created a barrier around them to protect them from the rocks as they tumbled off harmlessly to the side.

The lizards were crushed underneath the rocks as some of them still alive.

Kaynar and Andrea had been knocked unconscious.

"That'll slow them down, but we have to keep moving, as long as we have this sword, Mumm-Ra can find us." Said Adam.

"Well, then let's get a move on!" Yelled Carter as he and the others ran down a tunnel.

"At last!" Yelled Cassandra as she breathed in relief as they came towards the end of a tunnel.

"The way out is just through here!" Yelled Cassandra.

They followed her through towards a strange natural bridge that was made entirely of the crystals that stuck out of the walls and through the mountain.

When they reached the middle of the bridge however they stopped when they saw Addicus and a platoon of lizard soldiers pointing guns at them at the end of the bridge.

"It was so nice of you to light the way for us." Said Addicus with a grin.

There was a hissing noise and they all looked back to see Slithe and his soldiers and all were preparing their own weapons.

The three of them moved so they would be back-to-back on the crystal bridge as they approached them.

"Hand it to me while you're still alive or I'll take it from you when you're dead!" Yelled Addicus.

"You want it?" Asked Adam.

He reached up and grabbed the sword and taking it from the gauntlet and plunging it into the crystal.

The purple glow leaving it once it touched the red stone.

Addicus's eyes went wide as he saw the delicate crystal starting to crack.

"You're crazier than Kaynar or Andrea!" Yelled Addicus in surprise.

The bridge crumbled and everyone who happened to be on it began to fall into the deep pit below.

Carter once again made pillars made of the Earth and used it to hold them.

"Now I know you're trying to kill us!" Yelled Cassandra.

"Then why do I keep saving you?" Asked Adam.

Carter moved the pillars to where tunnel was and started running through the tunnel towards the exit when the Sword of Plun-Darr lit up again which caused them to stopped running.

"We can't outrun them." Said Adam.

"We each need to take a sword and separate." Said Cassandra.

Adam shook his head.

"Panthro would tell me that's a terrible idea." Said Adam.

"What does your gut tell you?" Asked Cassandra.

Adam looked at the Sword of Plun-Darr and he took it off his back and handed it to her.

"Take it and run." Said Adam.

"We'll meet you with the others." Said Adam.

Cassandra nodded and went off in another tunnel while Adam and Carter went for the exit.

They didn't get very far when they heard the screams of Cassandra.

They immediately came to a halt and looked back at the entrance to the tunnel they had come from.

"Cassandra!" Yelled Adam as he ran back towards the other tunnel.

"Cassandra!" Yelled Carter.

They went to the end of the tunnel and managed to stop themselves before they fell into the deep abyss below.

They looked and saw Cassandra tied to one of the red crystals with Mumm-Ra's wrappings.

The demon himself stood off just a little bit away from them as he was standing at the other end of the broken bridge.

He let out a small laugh.

"Look what I found, White Wizard, Avatar." Said Mumm-Ra as He was holding up the Sword of Plun-Darr.

Adam and Carter's eyes went wide.

"Run!" Yelled Cassandra.

"Don't let him get the Sword of Omens, too!" Yelled Cassandra.

Mumm-Ra lifted his hand and a purple shot of lighting came out of his wrapped palm and hit Cassandra.

She screamed at the feeling of it and when it stopped she let out a moan and was on the edge of unconsciousness.

"Quiet, my dear." Said Mumm-Ra.

"We're talking." Said Mumm-Ra.

He turned to Adam and Carter.

"But she's right, you two should run." Said Mumm-Ra.

"There's not a chance I'm leaving her with a monster like you!" Yelled Adam as Carter nodded in agreement.

"Generations pass and still both of your bloodlines is weakened by emotion." Said Mumm-Ra as he held up the sword.

"This is power, this is life!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as he used the sword as a catalyst to strengthen the power of his magic as he shot another lightning bolt at the two humans and it was twice as strong as the one he used on Cassandra.

Adam blocked it with the Sword of Omens and he did his best to hold his ground against the powerful blast but it became too much and he ended up having the sword knocked right out of his hands and down past some of the crystals on the edge of the cliff.

Mumm-Ra laughed.

"With this weapon, nothing in the universe can stop me!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

Carter blasted Mumm-Ra with his fire to keep him distracted while Adam moved through the crystals as deftly as he could, going to where the Sword of Omens lay on another one.

He reached for it to the best that he could and he was about to touch it when Mumm-Ra's sword blasted away the crystal it was resting on and causing it to fall even further.

"That piece of scrap metal is no match for the Sword of Plun-Darr." Said Mumm-Ra.

"And neither are you!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

"Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form to Mumm-Ra, the ever-living!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as he once more turned into his true form and he shot another blast at Adam.

He dodged it and held up his hand and the Spirit Stone made him a shield to block the blasts.

During the battle Carter went to Cassandra and used his fire element to cut her free.

Meanwhile the blast from Mumm-Ra's sword had been reflected off the shield made by the Spirit Stone and went through the mountain and creating a hole to the world outside.

The entire place shook from the blow and sending much debris down from above.

Mumm-Ra stopped to guard himself from the debris and Adam took this chance to get up and grab the Sword of Omens and lengthening it.

Mumm-Ra looked out to find his opponent but instead saw only his many reflections in the crystals that surrounded him.

In his show of power Adam had seemed to sharpen the edges of the natural crystals and turning them into red mirrors.

Mumm-Ra snarled.

"You thought you could beat me in the past." Said Mumm-Ra.

"What makes you think you'll succeed in the present when you failed in the past." Said Mumm-Ra.

"Because unlike you I have something to fight for!" Yelled Adam.

Mumm-Ra let out a roar and glided down to where Adam was reflected in one of the crystals and destroyed it.

The power of his blow travelled up through the inner mountain wall and causing another few holes to be made in the side of the mountain.

Mumm-Ra looked around searching for his enemy but only saw one of the reflections getting larger as Adam ran toward him.

Just as he figured out where he was Adam came up and knocked the Sword and Gauntlet of Plun-Darr out of his hands.

The sword went flying up into the air landing on one of the red crystals and far from Mumm-Ra's reach.

Immediately Adam, Carter and Cassandra began to go after it not realizing that Mumm-Ra wasn't doing the same.

They got the sword and looked back at Mumm-Ra.

"Sorry Mumm-Ra, but this time you loose and without your gauntlet you'll never be able to use the Stone's power." Said Adam with a smirk.

Although he looked angry, Mumm-Ra was actually smirking on the inside.

I found another way to use the stone's powers and by the time you realize it, it will be too late for the last stones on Third Earth. Thought Mumm-Ra as he didn't dare saying that to them.

Light began to come in from the outside and Mumm-Ra let out a strange noise that sounded something like a monstrous shriek mixed with a hiss and he blasted a new hole in the mountain opposite the one where the light was coming from and he flew away from them.

"We will meet again, soon!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as he escaped.

"Did we win?" Asked Cassandra after making it through her first battle.

"I think so." Said Carter.

"But don't you think it's strange, he didn't even attempt to get it back after all the trouble he went through to get it back in the first place." Said Adam.

"You think, he's up to something?" Asked Cassandra.

"Wouldn't surprise me." Replied Adam.

"I guess it's a good thing I didn't let my emotions get in the way." Said Adam with a slight chuckle.

"No, your emotions are what will make you a great Lord, a lord I would follow anywhere." Said Cassandra.

Adam looked at her with wide eyes, as did Carter.

"You two are the same species as me and yet you accepted me as a friend for unknown reasons." Said Cassandra.

"Your the first human ally we had since we came to this world, you've more then earned after this battle." Said Adam.

"Come on, let's get back the others are probably worried about us." Said Carter.

They nodded and started back up the cliff and heading to the exit.

They were out of the tunnel relatively quickly.

At the end of the tunnel, they saw Panthro and the others waiting for them.

As they stepped into the sunlight, they all flinched a little and squinted, their eyes adjusting to the change in brightness. They saw that the three of them had returned a little scraped up and with the sword and gauntlet.

"We beat them." Said Carter with a smile.

The other let out a sigh of relief.

Adam noticed Carter's look.

"What are you thinking?" Asked Adam.

"Do you think it's possible to remove the Dark Magic from the Sword and Gauntlet of Plun-Darr?" Asked Carter.

Cassandra came up to them.

"Actually despite our city's appearance we actually have spell casters that can disenchant." Said Cassandra.

"Disenchant?" Asked Adam.

"It means it can remove magics of any kind, even dark." Said Cassandra.

"Whoa." Said Carter as he looked at the sword and Gauntlet of Plun-Darr.

"You want to use it don't you?" Asked Adam.

"Well, according to that prophecy, Third Earth will have two rulers and it doesn't seem fair your the only one with a sword and gauntlet, and besides it should give us an advantage, two swords works better then one." Said Carter.

Adam sighed.

"If you can wait until we get this to Dog City and remove all the dark magics in it, then you can use it." Said Adam.

Carter silently cheered.

The cats were uneasy but if these spell casters can remove the dark magic from the sword and gauntlet then it could shift the balance in this war.


	24. The Soul Sever

Adam, Carter and Cassandra were outside the ThunderTank while looking up at the familiar walls of Dog City.

They had been waiting for several days for the disenchantment of the Sword of Plun-Darr to be complete.

Soon enough a dog came back with a cloth.

Carter took it off to reveal the Gauntlet and Sword of Plun-Darr.

It may seem strange but despite it looking the same, it doesn't have an evil aura around it.

The only diffece is with the sword is that it's smaller then it's original form and can fit into Carter's arm.

He took out the sword in awe.

He tested a few swing before nodding to the dog before handing him money and the dog went on it's way.

Then other cats decided to look for Kit and Kat so they can get back to finding the next stone.

Adam went to check on the Book of Omens in order to see what they could find out about the direction of the next stone.

But to his disappointment the Book still directed them straight up.

The trio decided to have gone into the market to find some supplies to stock up on.

"How in the world are we going to go up?" Asked Carter as he was staring down at the book.

"I have no idea." Said Adam. with a sigh.

"We really need to pick up the pace, Mumm-Ra may not the Sword of Plun-Darr but he still can use stones and if he gets to the next stone before us—"

"We're doomed i know, but until that stupid Book of Omens decides to point anywhere but straight up, we're stuck here." Said Adam.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" Asked a familiar voice from behind them.

Adam turned around to see a familiar dog face carrying a bag full of junk pieces who smiled at him.

"Thank the stars you two are still alive!" Yelled the dog.

"Jorma?" Asked Adam in shock.

His surprise turned into joy and he smiled widely at the old man.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Adam.

The old dog went up to Adam with a smile as bright as his.

"After barely escaping the fall of Thundera, I moved the old junk shop back home." Said Jorma.

He turned to get a look at the trio and let out a low whistle when he laid eyes on the ThunderTank.

"Oh my what do we have here?" Asked Jorma as he walked over to it and placing his hand against the cool metal.

"Never thought I'd get to see one up close." Said Jorma.

He turned back to Adam.

"You sure know how to travel in style." Said Jorma.

"You could say that." Said Adam.

Jorma moved to look inside the tank and his eyes widened when he saw the Book of Omens.

"The fabled Book of Omens, for so many years, I've dreamed of just seeing it." Said Jorma.

"Maybe you can help us figure out what's wrong with the book." Said Carter.

"Yeah for some reason that thing keeps pointing straight up no matter where we go." Said Adam.

"Let's get it back to the shop and I'll have a look." Said Jorma.

Adam reached down and took the Book of Omens out of its resting place in the tank and carried it following Jorma with Carter and Cassandra behind him.

Jorma's workshop lay just outside of the city's boundaries underneath a few boulders that had fallen in a landslide a few years ago.

Jorma said the place was perfectly safe from anything outside and was claiming the boulders provided adequate protection.

Inside his shop, the walls and floors had various pieces of technology hanging around.

It was the very same organized chaos that had existed in Jorma's old shop in Thundera.

Jorma plugged a few wires into the book and put on a pair of magnifying goggles and was looking over the book.

After about fifteen minutes of him just looking over different parts of the book.

"A priceless treasure like the Book of Omens requires the most delicate tools, so it may take a little time." Said Adam.

Adam jumped when he felt something tiny moving on his foot and he jumped back to see what looked like a little mechanical bug scurrying across the floor.

"What's that thing?" Asked Adam.

Jorma lifted up his goggles and glared at it.

"A nasty little pest." Replied Jorma.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Said Jorma.

He whistled and another little mechanical bug came hovering out of the room behind his workshop and was letting out strange metallic coos as if it was processing data information.

It flew by the group, heading straight for the little robot scurrying across the floor.

The light bulb it carried on its back lit up and a yellow bolt of lightning shot out and, zapping the crawling bug.

Once that was done it flew back to its master and letting out mechanical coos that sounded much happier.

Jorma smiled at it as it landed in his hand.

"That's Flicker, he helps me keep the scavengers away, isn't that right?" Asked Jorma.

Flicker let out a few more happy coos and looking up at Jorma as his body put away the flying blades that had given him the ability to hover in the first place.

"Yes, Flicker, your giga-spark gets them every time, good boy!" Yelled Jorma as he walked over to where the remains of the mechanical bug lay and picking it up.

"This spider-bot probably sniffed out the book's energy." Said Jorma as he threw it over to a corner of his store and when it landed it gave off a small explosion.

Jorma headed back to where the book was and picked up the book and looking over it again.

"Good news, the book is in perfect working order!" Yelled Jorma in happiness.

"So what, the stone is just hanging out on a cloud?" Asked Adam as he looked up.

"The sky may not be as empty as you think." Said Jorma as he was unplugging the cords he had stuck into the book.

He stood up.

"Let me show you a secret." Said Jorma.

The four of them followed Jorma's directions as they walked to a pretty deserted part of the flatlands that existed just outside of Dog City.

At first, there didn't seem to be much but as they came closer to their destination and it became clearer where Jorma was leading them.

It was a huge mountain of abandoned and somewhat broken technology.

It coated just a small portion of the huge land but it was about two miles in diameter.

They had to watch where they stepped to make sure they didn't stab their feet on a rogue piece of shrapnel.

The further in they went the more they had to climb over different junk piles.

"I'm the only one who knows about this place." Said Jorma as he was looking over all the different pieces of tech.

"Wow, the others are gonna be sorry they missed this." Said Cassandra with a sarcastic bite.

Carter reached down into the piles of tech and pulling out one of the pieces of junk.

"You haven't seen anything yet." Said Jorma simply.

There was a strange rumble above them almost like thunder but there was no thundercloud in the sky as well as any kind cloud.

Jorma let out an excited laugh.

"It's almost time, it's almost time!" Yelled Jorma in excitement.

"Are you feeling okay, Jorma?" Asked Adam in concern.

Jorma reached down and picked up a thick sheet of metal and held it over his head as he looked skyward.

"It's here!" Yelled Jorma.

The others looked up into the sky and was seeing small glints of sunlight as it reflected off of something and then they saw huge piles of technology and other junk plummeting down towards them.

They all jumped out of the way, trying to get to safety from the falling debris as it all came crashing down into the ground around them.

After a short moment, it all stopped as smaller pieces of metal fell down on top of the huge ones that had come first.

"Isn't it lovely?!" Asked Jorma with a grin as he looked at all the fallen metal work and putting down the piece he had grabbed to protect his head.

Carter glanced up at the sky and yelped when a final piece of metal landed in front of him.

He glared at it for a moment before regaining his composure.

"Something, someone is up there." Said Lion-O said.

"Whoever it is, they've got technology beyond our imagination." Said Jorma as he was joining the three of them as their group came to form up again.

Adam looked over some of the new pieces that had fallen and was very interested in what had just happened.

"They also have the next stone." Said Adam in realization.

Flicker came zooming over to them with urgent rapid sounds coming from him as he looked to Jorma.

His eyes widened when he realized what the little bug bot was saying.

He looked around worriedly before grabbing a small armful of technology and running towards the tank.

"We've got to go, get back to the City!" Yelled Jorma as he ran.

The trio were confused and were about to say something when they cut off by Jorma.

"You don't understand, they're coming!" Yelled Jorma in fear.

"Who's coming?" Asked Adam.

"The Necro-Mechs." Said Jorma as his voice trailed off as he heard the sound of metal hitting metal in the distance.

The trio looked back to see a group of robots and all of them made from various pieces of machinery as they walk across the metal piles towards them.

Everyone got ready to fight and glaring at the Necro-Mechs as they stopped.

Their mechanical eyes lit up as they scanned the area.

Once they were through they jumped into action but only seemed intrested with the Trio.

Adam held up his hand and began shooting out its powerful red beam at some of the robots as they narrowly avoided the blast and it hit a pile of metal scraps instead.

Carter used his newley acquired Sword of Plun-Darr to fight off against the Necro-Mechs.

Cassandra used her newly made sword to fight them off as well.

Amidst all this fighting one of the smaller robots got near Adam and found the Book of Omens, it carfully reached and grabbed the book.

Adam looked around and saw the little Necro-Mech that held the red book.

"We have to stop them, they're going for the Book of Omens!" Yelled Adam.

They tried their best in the end, it all failed.

Soon enough the necro-mechs were gone and the junkyard was silent.

Adam groaned as he pushed himself up and was glaring at where the robots had been standing.

"They got the book." Said Adam.

As the others all stood back up and they looked around at all the rubble.

"Got to give those scavengers some credit." Said Carter.

"They were pretty thorough." Said Carter.

"They didn't even leave a trail." Said Adam.

"Well, those bots didn't build themselves." Said Cassandra.

"Indeed." Said Jorma as he was coming over to them.

"Someone called the Soul Sever did." Said Jorma.

"No one's ever seen him, just his work." Said Jorma as he was reaching down to pick up a piece of the tank.

"While these machines are just products of their programming, Sever is working to create robots with souls." Said Jorma as he threw the piece he was holding at Adam who caught it easily.

"Machines with souls?" Asked Carter.

"That's impossible." Said Carter.

"More impossible then anthropomorphic animals, magic, elements and different worlds?" Asked Adam in sarcasm.

"Fair enough." Replied Carter as he threw the piece away.

"Flicker can track the book's electromagnetic signature." Said Jorma.

"He will lead you to Soul Sever and the book." Said Jorma.

Flicker took off while humming happily as he went after the signal he was receiving from the Book of Omens.

"Try to keep up, he moves fast!" Yelled Jorma.

They all ran after the little bot and making sure to keep him in their sights.

"Good luck!" Yelled Jorma as he was waving goodbye.

They followed Flicker through the plains and was heading to a dark part of the area where a storm was coming in a temple with high towers spiraling up into the sky.

Flicker began to fly closer to it and the others followed, passing by many different run-down machines.

One of them happened to catch Carter's eye as they ran.

"I think those are the air ships you saw in the Book of Omens." Said Carter.

"If they work, it could take us up to the next stone." Said Cassandra.

"The next stone won't matter if we can't get the book back." Said Adam.

They approached the doors.

They were wide open and they all walked in.

The room was so cold and seeing all the wires and machinery lying around and going through the walls made it seem even colder and much less inviting.

"The stuff of nightmares." Said Carter as they went further in.

As they came into the main room they saw six tunnels that didn't lead anywhere along the walls and there was a huge piece of machinery on the back of the wall where all the wires that went throughout the building met.

This was behind an important-looking table where the Book of Omens was being suspended in the air by electrical waves that danced all around it.

"It's the book!" Whispered Adam when he saw it.

Flicker wasted no time in flying forward.

"Flicker, wait!" Yelled Adam.

Flicker didn't listen as he went over to the book and was about to use his giga-spark to shut off the machine that held the book when a large hand grabbed him and pulled him away from it.

"What do we have here?" Asked a strange voice.

Everyone saw a strange man whose body seemed to be made almost entirely of machines stood up.

His limbs were long and gangly and he seemed to wear some sort of metallic robe of some kind, but what got them the most were the huge scythes that were folded like wings on his back.

This had to be the Soul Sever.

He looked at Flicker with his bright green eyes.

"An amusing trinket?" Asked Soul Sever.

"You better not hurt him." Said Carter.

"There is nothing to hurt." Said Soul Sever.

"He is merely wires and a product of programming, but no soul, he is incomplete." Said Soul Sever as he tossed Flicker away as he turned to them.

"As are all you, perfect souls trapped in imperfect vessels." Said Soul Sever.

"Why have you disturbed me?" Asked Soul Sever.

"We've come here for the Book of Omens!" Yelled Adam as he was pointing to where the book was suspended.

"I'm afraid that's impossible." Replied Soul Sever.

"Not after I've seen the incredible potential of this artifact." Said Soul Sever as he looked at the book.

"And I've seen that potential in the hands of a mad man." Lion-O growled, "I won't allow it!"

"Then you see technology as an evil?" Soul Sever asked him.

"It's hard not to, after all the trouble it's been causing since we came to this world!" Yelled Adam.

"What you call trouble, is all that gives me hope." Said Soul Sever.

He looked up at something behind him and the others looked as well to see three ghostly white orbs with long wispy tails moving back and forth in cylindrical containers.

"Before technology, my only obsession was my family, but a sickness overwhelmed them, one for which traditional medicine had no cure, so I turned to the Necro-Mechers, a cult that harvested the technology that had been shunned by so much of Third Earth, if anyone could help, it would be these mysterious strangers, they managed to keep my family alive, but there was a price to be paid." Said Soul Sever as he put his hand against his chest.

"They turned me into a weapon to further their cause, their machines prolonged my family's life but it wasn't much of a life, i argued that, if their natural bodies had failed, let us make better ones, the Necro-Mechers warned that that would be a perversion of the balance between nature and technology, they had tried before with disastrous consequence, they would not allow it again, so I destroyed them." Said Soul Sever with emotionless tone in his voice.

"Through further experiments, I succeeded in capturing my family's souls, and here, those precious souls have waited for the perfect host, a task I was beginning to believe was impossible, until this book was brought to me." Said Soul Sever.

"We can help you, and your family." Said Adam.

"But we need the book to do that." Said Adam,

"No one will ever touch this book but me!" Yelled Soul Sever.

"I suggest that if you value your fragile organic life, you will leave now." Said Soul Sever.

Adam sighed and turned to Carter.

"We're leaving." Said Adam.

They began to head out the door.

Cassandra would grab the book and sneak off before Soul Sever had a chance to notice.

"Wait, there was another one with you, a girl if i'm not mistaken." Said Soul Sever.

"Uh, your story bored her so she left in the middle." Said Carter.

Soul Sever's eyes turned red and he looked around the room.

He glanced over to where the book was, and held out his hand and a huge electric bolt shooting out.

Cassandra was hit and fell to the ground.

"Cassandra!" Yelled Adam.

They ran to help her but stopped by the Necro-Mechs.

"You wanted to help my cause?" Asked Soul Sever.

"Then yours will be the next souls to be severed." Said Soul Sever.

Everyone looked at him with wide eyes and before they could blink the Necro-Mechs had grabbed each of them.

They all struggled against the machines but they would not relent until they shoved them down on metal tables and strapping them to it.

Each of the tables connected to one of the six tunnels along the walls.

Adam, Carter and Cassandra were all put on one side.

The tunnels lit up and were humming as they came to life and getting ready to perform whatever task they were made to do.

"Your book has allowed me power I'd only ever imagined." Said Soul Sever.

"No longer must we know our greatest weaknesses, disease, age, pain." Said Soul Sever as he slowly stopped.

"You know, I really don't mind most of those." Said Cassandra as she struggled against her restraints.

"Free us. now!" Yelled Adam.

"You will be freed, of life's greatest restraint: death." Said Soul Sever.

"But first, for the sake of my loved ones, I must be sure the process will work." Said Soul Sever.

"What are you planning to do to us?!" Yelled Carter.

Soul Sever didn't reply as he began typing in some things on the main computer.

The tables which had previously been upright when down on their backs as the machines' hums became even louder.

"Now this won't hurt at all." Said Soul Sever.

"In fact, nothing ever will again." Said Souls Sever.

Everyone began shouting their protests as the machines started to slowly pull in the tables.

Everyone struggled against their restraints and trying to get free.

Suddenly with high-pitched mechanical sounds were heard as Flicker came buzzing over to them.

He used his giga spark to stop the machine that was pulling in Adam and the restraints released him.

Adam smiled at the little bug bot.

Flicker let out a sound of happiness before using his giga-spark on Carter's table.

He didn't aim in the same place he had with Adam so his restraints weren't released right away but the machines did stop and he was thankful for that much.

Flicker turned and was about to do the same for Cassandra, but Soul Sever reached out, and flicked the little bug bot away to the floor.

Flicker landed with a small thud on the ground with sparks coming from where his mechanics had been charging up.

Adam turned, drawing his sword just in time to block the scythes that had unfolded from Soul Sever's back.

He swiped at him again and again.

"It's a pity you cannot see what I'm trying to do!" Yelled Soul Sever.

"What's that?" Asked Adam as he started attacking him.

"Rob us of the humanity technology stole from you?!" Yelled Adam.

Since Cassandra's table hadn't stopped she was pulled into the machine completely and she let out a cry of pain as something electrocuted her.

Carter struggled against hia restraints as he was trying to get out to help his friends but it was on pretty tightly.

Adam fell to the ground as he was rolling to the side just in time to avoid Soul Sever's scythe from where it would have pierced his skull.

"I'm afraid nothing can stop progress!" Yelled Soul Sever.

As he spoke Cassandra's soul was sucked out of her body and put into the machine.

The wispy green waves were directed upwards and into the pile of machinery waiting at the top.

Adam watched with wide eyes as the machinery began to move mid-air taking a familiar form that looked something like Cassandra but it definitely wasn't.

This machine had Cassandra's soul in it and it let out a mechanical roar as it came to life.

"It worked! It worked!" Yelled Soul Sever happily as he looked up at the robotic Cassandra.

He turned to where the souls waited in their containers.

"Soon, you will all be in my arms once again." Said Soul Sever.

The robot jumped down from where it had been previously and landing in front of Soul Sever.

He waved his hands toward him as he stepped back.

"Come to me, my perfect creation!" Yelled Soul Sever.

The machine slowly stepped toward him but after the third step it stopped and then the metal body twitching as sparks flew from it.

"No, no, this can't be happening!" Yelled Soul Sever.

The arm shot out and went through the wall and grabbing some mechanics from another part of the building.

The other arm did the same.

Each part of it kept grabbing more machinery and added it on to itself.

"I can fix this!" Yelled Soul Sever frantically as he ran back to the main computer.

"You can fix what?!" Asked/Yelled Adam over the sound of metal against metal.

The robot Cassandra let out another mechanical roar as the body got bigger.

"What's happening to him?!" Asked Adam.

Finally after so much struggling Carter managed to break through his restraints.

Hel ran to where the mechanical body's appendages were growing at an alarming rate.

He did his best to keep it at bay while Adam was cutting up the strange grey tubes that held them together.

Carter did the same thing with his sword.

It didn't do much good as it just kept getting bigger until it was almost as big as the room itself.

"No! No! I can control this!" Yelled Soul Sever as he was working quickly at the main computer.

"I just have to make some adjustments!" Yelled Soul Sever in desperation.

"This is what the Necro Mechers warned you of!" Yelled Adam as he sliced off another tube.

Soul Sever ignored him as he kept working.

"At this size, she will need to feed on more souls just to stay alive!" Yelled Soul Sever.

He kept working as the robot went over to the containers that held his family's souls.

"Stay away from them!" Yelled Soul Sever as he ran over to stop the robot but the robot knocked him back with a heavy kick that sent him into the wall.

He cracked open the containers and sucked down the wispy white orbs.

"No!" Yelled Soul Sever.

The robot let out another roar and Soul Sever looked at her with his metal jaw agape.

"What have I done?" Asked Soul Sever.

Adam ran up to the computer.

"How do we stop it?!" Asked Adam.

"We can't, only a powerful electrical pulse into the book will disrupt the process!" Yelled Soul Sever.

Flicker flew up beside Adam and he looked at the little bug bot with wide eyes.

"Like a giga-spark!" Yelled Adam as he turned to it.

"Flicker, you know what to do!" Yelled Adam.

The little robot gave off a sound of agreement and began to hover over to the book but Soul Sever grabbed him and stopping him from going any further.

"What are you doing?!" Asked Adam in confusion.

"I can't let this happen!" Yelled Soul Sever.

"It will destroy more than that beast, your friend's soul may have a body to return to but my family does not!" Yelled Soul Sever

Soul Sever looked back at the remains of the containers that held his family's souls.

"I can't lose them!" Yelled Soul Sever.

"You already lost them, now it's time you let them go!" Yelled Adam.

Soul Sever stared at him for a moment before he opened his hand and Flicker flew over to the Book of Omens and his giga-spark shooting out and zapping the book.

Once he had the book responded with a pulse of its own that threw Flicker back.

The entire room became bathed in red light as the book was able to stop the robotic Cassandra from moving.

The light coming from the book grew brighter and brighter and suddenly it stopped.

Released from the electrical hold that the machine had on it the book fell to the floor.

The souls that the machine had swallowed all flew out of it and the machinery turned into a pile of rubble on the ground.

Cassandra's soul went back to her own body while the other three circled around Soul Sever's head as though they were saying goodbye.

As they flew up Soul Sever called out to them to try to stop them but they didn't listen.

"No, no, no!" Yelled Soul Sever as they flew up into the sky until they were no longer discernible among the storm clouds.

"No." Said Soul Sever as tears fell from his's eyes as he looked up at where his family had disappeared to.

Adam and Carter went over to Cassandra and releasing her restraints as she regained consciousness and pushed herself up.

"How're you feeling?" Asked Carter..

She shrugged.

"I've been worse, I think." Said Cassandra.

The pair helped her off the table and was helping her to get her bearings again as she got used to being back in her organic body.

Adam went over to the book and picked it up.

He glanced to the side and looked sadly on what he saw.

"Flicker." Said Adam as he saw the little bug bot was on the ground and his light bulb broken, and his wings damaged.

There was no hum of electricity going through him and he didn't move.

The reaction pulse of the book severely damaged his inner-workings.

Adam didn't expect the little guy to come back at least not without some serious repairs being done.

Soul Sever gently picked up the little bug bot's remains and holding it in his hand.

"He knew this would be the consequence but his programming shouldn't have allowed it." Said Soul Sever in amazement.

"Which means something else did." Said Adam.

"Something greater but in the end, technology isn't the disease or the cure and it can't blame it for how evil minds may use it." Said Adam as he knew how people in his world is so dependent on technology for every little thing.

Soul Sever leaned back against his desk with his head in his hands.

"Now go, take your book and let me grieve in peace." Said Soul Sever.

They did as he wanted and left him alone.

They were silent as they walked out of the building.

Cassandra had recovered quickly and seemed completely fine as they left to get back to the others.

The group kept walking on heading back to Dog City where their friends waited for them.

"Where were you three?" Asked Panthro as he couldn't believe they would just leave without a reason.

"Long story, but the short version we think we know where the stone is now." Replied Adam.

This shocked them.

They told the whole story and plans to make a journey for the third stone, tomorrow.

As Panthro was placing the book back where it was he noticed the book was glowing.

"Hey guys, look at this." Said Panthro as he called the attention to the others.

Cheetara, Tygra, Kit and Kat went over as Panthro opened the book.

It read in blue letters:

Before Adam could gain the Third Stone, one of the newcomers from Dog City will turn against him.

This shocked the group.

That means either Cassandra or Pumyra could be the traitor but the question is, why would they betray him?

Meanwhile Mumm-Ra was watching.

"You think that preventing me from getting the Sword and Gauntlet of Plun-Darr would stop my plans, but you only set them into motion and when you find out about Andrea's gift, it will be to late." Said Mumm-Ra as he laughed.

The laughter echoed throughout the Black Pyramid.


	25. What Lies Above Part 1

After the incident with Soul Sever they returned to his lair to ask him about the airship he had lying just outside it.

But for some reason he disappeared and so had any remnant of anything saying he might have been there except for his deactivated nechro-mechs.

Seeing no reason to look further into it they got to work on the airship with Panthro spotting out different problems and telling everyone what they needed to do.

Everyone had done their part in the repairs and in order to make Panthro familiar with it they used some of the machinery from the ThunderTank to help fix it up as well as some random bits and pieces from the nearby junkyard.

The next morning everyone got up and worked on the airship and putting together different pieces and adding on some new ones.

Kat and Kit sat on their hover boards at the side of the ship as they were painting the ThunderCats' symbol on it.

"I can't believe we found an airship in Soul Sever's lair." Said Kat as he went up and down along the metal while painting in the red while Kit painted in the black panther head.

Carter held up his hand with a small flame coming out and with a little effort he managed to concentrate the flame enough so it was a small stream of fire that he used to weld together a couple of pieces of metal.

When he was done he looked back at Tygra and he nodded in approval.

"I'd say we've done a pretty good job putting this hunk of junk back together again." Said Tygra.

Cheetara nodded in agreement as she put up a piece on the ship where Cassandra was quick to come over and weld some of the metal together.

"You two decide on a name yet?" Asked Cheetara to the twins.

"Sure did!" Yelled Kit in excitement as she and her brother popped their heads up over the side of the ship.

"Say hello to The Feliner!" Yelled Kat happily.

Adam's gaze turned upwards.

"Hard to believe it's going to take us up there, past the clouds to where the Book of Omens says the third stone is." Said Adam as he couldn't belive it.

Pumyra smiled as she put her hands on his shoulders.

"Believe it, you're the one who got us here." Said Pumyra.

Adam smiled went down to the front of the ship where Panthro was working inside the ship's engine.

He sat at the top of the entrance.

"How's it looking down there, Panthro?!" Asked Adam.

"Pretty good!" Replied Panthro.

He stood up and was wiping his robotic hands of any latent grease on a rag.

"I think she just might be ready to fly." Said Panthro.

Everyone made themselves comfortable in the Feliner as Panthro fired up the engines.

It roared loudly and everyone felt a small sense of relief in knowing that they worked.

"I've got her humming now." Said Panthro as he sat in the pilot's seat.

"Who wants to take her for a spin?" Asked Panthro.

"You sure you know how to fly this thing, Panthro?" Asked Cheetara as she was a little wary at the idea of flying high in a ship that no one knew how to operate.

"If she's anything like the Thunder Tank, we got nothing to worry about." Replied Panthro said.

Panthro put his hands on the controls.

"Just gonna take her up nice and easy." Said Panthro as he carefully moved the controls, and the ship moved upwards.

They seemed fine at first until they all suddenly started swaying to the right and left.

Everyone tried to keep a hold on their seat as Panthro tried to steady the ship.

"Okay, so it isn't anything like the ThunderTank!" Yelled Panthro.

He looked up to see just where they were and his eyes bugged out of his head.

"Are we really that high up?!" Asked Panthro as he let out a high-pitched yelp.

"Don't tell me you're scared of heights!" Yelled Adam.

"I didn't know until just now!" Yelled Panthro as he was moving his hands away from the controls and covering his eyes.

The ship swerved out of control and everyone grabbed on tightly to what they could hold on to.

"We're gonna die!" Yelled Pumyra fearfully.

"We're too cute to die!" Yelled both the kittens as they hung onto each other.

Everyone watched as they came closer and closer to a cliff and just as they were certain they were going to crash and braced for impact the ship took a sharp turn upwards and suddenly they were flying high and flying steady.

After regaining their bearings everyone looked up to see what had happened.

"There we go." Said Carter as he manned the controls from his station.

"Nothing to it." Said Carter.

"And when did you learn how to fly an airship?" Asked Cassandra.

"It just felt natural." Said Carter with a shrug.

Panthro was still scared of heights and a little humiliated that he had been outdone by Carter he covered his face again and trying not to look at the ground as they flew over it.

"No wonder your dad's a pilot." Said Adam.

Carter grinned at him and focused on flying the airship while the others went over to the window and wanting to see how Third Earth looked below them.

"Guys, you gotta see this!" Yelled Kat.

Everyone who was able went over to the windows and saw the huge areas below them.

"It's breathtaking." Said Pumyra in awe.

Adam looked out the window and was seeing all the different territories of all the different lands they had ventured to.

"Look, there's Dog City!" Yelled Kit excitedly.

"I think I see the Elephant Village!" Yelled Kat.

"The Enchanted Forest!" Yelled Kit.

"It's the Fishman Oasis!" Yelled Kat.

Adam looked down at them all with a small smile.

"Panthro!" Yelled Cheetara as she looked out the window.

"You're missing this!" Yelled Cheetara.

Panthro stayed glued to his seat as his eyes shut tight and his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"See it fine from here." Said Panthro firmly.

"Third Earth looks so small from up here, all the different nations look like a unified whole." Said Adam as he gazed out from where he was sitting.

"Maybe one day." Said Adam as he turned to his friend.

"Let's see what's on the other side of those clouds, take us up, Carter." Said Adam.

He nodded and pulled the levers that controlled the airship back and the Feliner went flying higher into the sky.

They flew into a patch of dark stormy clouds and everyone was silent.

Every now and then they saw a flash of lightning as it travelled from one cloud to another.

Adam watched as the Book of Omens's compass instead of pointing upward and was pointed straight ahead.

Soon the gray clouds faded back to white and light came into view once again.

Before them lay a gigantic structure was hovering above the clouds.

"It's a city." Said Kat when he saw it.

"In the sky!" Yelled Kit as she was completely dazzled by the sight of it.

The ship shook as something exploded beside them and alarms started blaring.

"We're under attack!" Yelled Pumyra as she was standing up and was ready to fight.

"No, those were warning shots." Said Adam.

A couple more went off beside them and three more airships began to move with them.

They were smaller and more streamlined than the Feliner and gave off the appearance of a flying hawk.

"Unidentified craft, we will escort you to a landing." Said a voice that came from one of the ships.

"Failure to comply would be unwise." Said the voice.

Not wanting to risk getting into trouble Carter followed the ships to a landing area in the floating city and carefully came to a stop.

Once the ship had stopped moving and the engines had died and everyone stood up and headed for the entrance.

"Be ready for anything." Said Adam as they walked out of the ship and onto the landing pad.

Loud birdcalls were heard before the group find themselves surrounded by hawk people and all of them were bearing spears that seemed to be powered by electricity.

Everyone pulled out their weapons and were ready to fight the birds if need be.

Two more birds came towards them:

One was a short stout pigeon and the other was a tall hunchbacked but muscular vulture.

Both of them dressed in elegant robes although the vulture bore a little more fine jewellery than the pigeon.

"Look Horus, flying cats, how quaint." Said the vulture.

"But I forget my manners, we so rarely get visitors up here." Said the vulture.

He bowed slightly to them in greeting.

"I am Vultaire, Prefect of Avista City." Said Vultaire.

Everyone put their weapons down as they saw they weren't going to be attacked.

"I am Adam Ordeis, Lord of Third Earth." Said Adam.

"It is our pleasure to welcome you to our home." Said Vultaire

"Any creature as well as cats who make it up here despite their limitations are to be our guests at dinner." Said Vultaire.

"We'd be honored." Said Adam as he bowed to Vultaire in gratitude.

"Did he say 'limitations'?" Asked Tygra to Cheetara.

They followed Vultaire and Horus further into the city.

As they walked through many halls Kit and Kat had eyes as big as dinner plates as they looked out all the windows that looked down at the fluffy clouds below them.

Snarf was just as dazzled as the twins as they were following them everywhere and looking at everything.

There was a small hum throughout the city as they walked.

Soon enough Vultaire led them to a large room decorated in many tapestries as it looked down upon the rest of Avista.

In the centre of the room was a long table where no one was seated but there were many covered dishes waiting to be unveiled.

"This is truly a city of wonder, Vultaire." Said Adam as they walked further in.

Vultaire nodded.

"As you can see, in Avista, technology provides for our every need, now, enjoy a sampling of our finest cuisine." Said Vultaire.

Everyone sat at the table, as well as a few other robed birds.

"Now you kids mind your manners." Said Panthro to the kittens.

"Eat whatever's put on your plate." Said Panthro.

A couple of servants lifted up the dish coverings to show everything they had to offer them as Vultaire listed off each one.

"Millet seed casserole, larvae and bark crawler, beetles on the half-shell and the main course, rodentia tar-tar." Said Vultaire.

Everyone looked at the food and tried to hide their grimaces.

All of it was either a meal made of live bugs live fish or something that was boiled and used to be a bug.

"Good thing we packed our own lunch." Said Kit to her brother.

"Rankinbass!" Yelled both the kittens as they whispered into the magic bag which they found back in Dog City and a light flashed from it before Kat reached in and pulled out two candy fruits for him and his sister.

They began chowing down on it right away while Panthro was wondering how the heck he was supposed to eat the giant cooked caterpillar in front of him.

He saw the twins eating candy fruit and leaned down.

"You got anything else in there?" Asked Panthro.

"Eat whatever's put on your plate." Said Kat with a smug grin before he went back to eating the candy fruit.

Panthro grumbled to himself as he took a bite out of the caterpillar and was grimacing once he did.

"Everything looks so fresh." Said Adam nicely as he couldn't get on their bad side while they still have the stone.

"Enough with the formalities Adam." Said Pumyra from her seat and was looking pointedly at Adam.

"We came here for a reason." Said Pumyra.

"A Cat dispensing with manners, shocking." Said Vultaire in sarcasam.

"Please illuminate me to what you seek in our rarefied air, wisdom, culture, elegance?" Asked Vultaire.

"We know you possess a Power Stone, we need it." Said Adam.

The table was quiet for a moment before all the birds broke out in cawing laughter.

"Is that all?" Asked Vultaire as he was still laughing a little.

"An evil has fallen over Third Earth, Mumm-Ra the ever-living." Said Adam.

"That is hardly our concern up here." Said Vultaire.

"We're quite literally above it all." Said Vultaire.

Adam stood up.

"I already have the War and Spirit Stones, but only the four stones united will save Third Earth from Mumm-Ra." Said Adam.

Vultaire stood up as he was walking over to the huge window and looking down at the city.

"For centuries, we've looked down and watched the Cats rule through the War Stone." Said Vultaire as he was placing his clawed hands behind his back.

Adam was confused.

I Thought the Cats didn't know anything about the War Stone. Thought Adam.

"Seen them pit nations against each other so that they may never rise against them and you, the new leader tells me giving you our stone is the key to peace?" Asked Vultaire.

He turned around.

"I think we'll hold onto it, thank you very much." Said Vultaire.

"And if Mumm-Ra attacks you?!" Asked Adam in outrage, at the least the elephants were willing.

"While I'm sure he poses a grave threat to the Cats, remember we are superior to you in every way and that is why the Birds will always own the skies." Said Vultaire as he gestured towards the city.

Tygra smashed his fist onto the table.

"That's it!" Yelled Tygra.

He growled as he stood up.

"I've had enough of your condescending attitude, i'll bet you that stone that I can fly one of those things better than any of you!" Yelled Tygra as he pointed to the window where the crafts flew back and forth.

Again, the birds let out cawing laughter.

Cheetara quickly stood up and put her hand on Tygra's shoulder.

"Tygra, you don't even know how to fly a spacecraft." Said Carter as he as trying to deter Vultare from Tygra's challenge.

"Indeed, why would we bother?" Asked Vultaire.

"Because, if I lose." Said Tygra as he reached for Adam's chest and took out his stones.

"You get both of our stones." Said Tygra.

"What, no!" Yelled Adam as he turned around to get his stones back.

"He doesn't speak for us!" Yelled Adam as tried to change Vultaire's mind.

"Alas, on Avista, a challenge may not be withdrawn, only refused." Said Vultaire.

"We accept, in fact as Prefect, I feel obligated to take on the challenge myself!" Yelled Vultaire as he spread his wings wide in his excitement.

They all went outside where Vultare had Horus place the ship that Tygra was going to use.

Small machines had also been set up around the area for simply hovering as they waited to be activated.

"For your sake, we'll keep the rules simple." Said Vultaire.

He snapped his fingers and one of the machines went up and creating a holographic blue ring.

"The one who finishes with the most rings wins." Said Vultaire.

The other machines all went off and creating more holographic rings.

"You can count, I assume." Said Vultaire arrogantly.

"Shut your beak and fly." Said Tygra.

"Indeed, then let the challenge commence." Said Vultaire.

One of the platforms moved and bringing up a large red streamlined ship with wings that looked an awful lot like feathers to where they were.

"That looks fast." Said Kat as he was pointing to it.

"I assume you are a Cat of your word." Said Vultaire as he was looking to Adam.

"When your friend loses, I expect the other stones." Said Vultaire.

"He won't lose." Said Adam as he surely hoped as Tygra hopped into the Bird's aircraft.

Adam went over to him.

"You better not lose." Said Adam in anger.

"Don't worry, he won't." Said Cheetara as she leaned down to give Tygra a kiss on the cheek.

He smiled at her and the two of them moved back as Tygra and Vultaire started the ships' engines.

One machine hovered in front of them as they got ready as the tops of each one closing up tightly.

Once that was done the machine had two red lights glow then two yellow lights and once the blue light showed they took off.

Vultaire easily gained the lead while Tygra seemed to have a little trouble flying the Birds' ship.

Vultaire claimed the first few rings with ease with the ones he had gone through changing from blue to red.

After a few moments Tygra's ship managed to pick up some speed and he took off as he was flying through the holographic rings and changing them from blue to green.

He was quick and he soon matched Vultaire's pace with a few impressive loops and moves thrown in.

Soon enough there weren't too many rings left and Kit and Kat took to counting how many were already taken as the two airships zoomed overhead.

"They're tied!" Yelled Kit with a wide smile as they both headed for the last five rings.

Vultaire claimed two as did Tygra.

"And one ring left!" Yelled Kat excitedly.

They watched as Vultaire tried to out manoeuvre Tygra but it didn't do any good.

He had easily adapted to the technology in the airship he had been given.

Vultaire pulled back a little and everyone's eyes widened when they saw something shoot out of Vultaire's ship that exploded in front of Tygra's.

His ship started to go down and Vultaire was headed straight for the last ring.

Before he could go through it Tygra's ship took a sharp turn up and hitting the bottom of Vultaire's ship as he knocked it out of the way and flew through the final ring.

Everyone cheered at his victory.

"He did it!" Yelled Cassandra.

"Of course he did." Said Cheetara.

Tygra came back to the platform and landing the ship easily, and everyone gathered around him and congratulated him for winning.

Vultaire's ship came closer and was hovering over them.

The spot where Tygra had hit had exposed part of the ship and small sparks came out.

"A barbaric violation!" Yelled Vultaire in anger.

"And you dented my ship!" Yelled Vultaire.

"You set the rules." Said Tygra as he pointed at Vultaire.

"The one who finishes with the most rings wins." Said Tygra as he pointed out.

"I'll be taking the stone now." Said Adam as he was holding out his hands.

Vultaire let out a squawking laugh.

"You'll be lucky to leave with your lives!" Yelled Vultaire.

"This agreement is void, you forfeit your wager." Said Vultaire.

"You made a deal." Said Pumyra as she growled angrily at him.

Vultare ignored her as he stood up in his ship with his wings spreading wide.

"Escort our 'guests' to their quarters, under heavy guard." Said Vultaire.

The group soon found themselves surrounded by guards and all of them were bearing their weapons in preparation for a fight.

Vultaire looked to Horace.

"I want them gone at daybreak." Said Vultaire.

Horus nodded once.

The group had been escorted to a fairly nice room with plenty of things to keep them comfortable.

Tygra sat down on the large yellow couch with a huff.

"I can't believe that flying rodent." Said Tygra as he was crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Cheetara came to sit by him.

"At least Adam didn't lose the two stones he has." Said Cheetara.

"That's something, isn't it?" Asked Cheetara but no one answered her.

Adam looked down at the Book of Omens as his gaze seeing the book's compass pointing to where the stone was straight ahead of them.

"I'm so close." Said Adam.

"I say if they won't give it to us, then we take it!" Yelled Pumyra..

"Isn't that, I don't know—kinda stealing?" Asked Kit.

"And 'kinda stealing' is still stealing, we have some experience with the whole 'kinda' thing." Said Kat.

"Well, the plan is 'kinda' moot." Said Cheetara.

"The hall is filled with armed guards." Said Cheetara.

Pumyra stood up.

"Who says we have to use the hall?" Asked Pumyra.

She opened her bow and fired a stone at the window and shattering open an entrance large enough for all of them to use.

Everyone stood up in surprise.

"I say we use the hall!" Yelled Panthro.

"I'm not going out there!" Yelled Panthro in fear.

"Who needs the Birds' permission when the book will take us right to the stone?" Asked Pumyra as she was gesturing to the book.

"Orders, my King?" Asked Pumyra as she looked at Adam.

Adam looked around the room and was seeing that everyone else was ready to follow through with Pumyra's plan except for Panthro.

He raised his fist up a little bit and keeping the Book of Omens tucked under his arm.

"ThunderCats." Said Adam.

"Oh, no, don't you say it." Said Panthro as he had a feeling on what he was going to say.

"Do not say what I think you're gonna say Adam Ordies!" Yelled Panthro.

"Ho." Said Adam as he pumped his fist.

Panthro groaned.

Everyone filed out towards the hole that Pumyra had made.

They moved out onto the ledge that was just beneath and they began pulling themselves up to the roof of the room.

Panthro was the last one to leave and looked down at the clouds below them with a fearful grimace.

"Couldn't we just fight the blasted guards instead?" Asked Panthro.

"Kit, Kat, get to the Feliner with Snarf." Said Adam.

"We'll be along soon." Said Adam.

The kittens nodded and went over to the side of the nearest building with Snarf climbing up and holding onto Kit's back as the two of them easily scaled up the side of the wall and ran along a railing that would take them closer to the airship.

When they were out of sight Adam turned to the others and pointing ahead of him.

"Book says that way." Said Adam.

"Then let's go!" Yelled Pumyra.

"We're wasting—" Said Pumyra but she stopped when she heard a bang and they all looked to see Panthro was having trouble climbing up onto the roof.

He looked over his shoulder at the clouds beneath.

"I don't feel so good." Said Panthro before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell back.

"Panthro!" Yelled Adam.

Panthro started tumbling down the side of the walls of the building.

Adam and Carter jumped down and running after him.

As Panthro kept moving further downwards with his mechanical arms kept extending.

As the walls became steeper and steeper until he fell off of the structure as the ropes from Adam and Carter's gauntlets which made him swing back and forth.

Once he saw that he was safe, Panthro let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Once he was back on his feet they left the roof and heading towards another opening in another part of the building and closer to where the Stone was.

They looked through the window and when they saw the hallway was mostly empty Pumyra used her bow to smash open another window and they went in and as making sure to be as quick and as quiet as possible.

Soon, they came to the end of the hall they had been walking through.

They stood in front of a pair of thick metal doors.

"The Book says the Stone is right ahead." Said Adam.

Panthro went over to the side as he was looking at a small contraption that was connected to the door while Tygra tried to pull the metal doors apart.

"I can't get the door open." Said Tygra as he stepped back from it.

Panthro pressed his metal fingers against the small pad on the contraption and watching as it lit up to a red color and then pressing another part that lit up green.

"State of the art security system, without passcodes, we don't pass." Said Panthro.

"We're going to let a door stop us?" Asked Pumyra.

"Pumyra, do you see another way in there?" Asked Cassandra.

With an angry scowl, Pumyra turned away and ran down the hall.

"Where's she going?" Asked Adam.

"Who knows?" Asked Tygra with a shrug.

"But I'll bet she brings back trouble." Said Tygra.

They all waited for Panthro to try and hack open the door.

As Kit and Kat neared the Feliner they saw it was guarded by a pair of birds.

They quickly hid so they wouldn't see them and watched as one of them received a message through an earpiece that was attached to his helmet.

He turned to the other guard.

"The Cats have escaped their quarters, double our patrols, they're around here somewhere!" Yelled one guard.

The twins looked at each other uneasily.

"What are we going to do?" Asked Kat.

"We can't fight the whole city." Said Kit.

"We've gotta get help, a lot of it!" Yelled Kit.

There was a scurrying sound beside her feet and she looked to see Snarf was running towards the guards.

"Snarf!" Yelled Kit.

But he didn't listen and kept on running.

"What is he doing?" Asked Kit.

"Creating a distraction." Replied Kat with a grin.

Snarf ran up behind the guards and let out a loud mewl to get their attention.

"There's one of them now!" Yelled One of the guards.

He reached down to try and grab him but Snarf was quicker and started biting his arm and ripping off his feathers until there was nothing but skin.

The guard pulled away and glared at the little creature as he ran off ith feathers still in his mouth.

The two guards let out bird-like calls as they chased after him.

"Don't let it get away!" Yelled one of the guards.

Once they were out of sight the twins ran for the Feliner and quickly getting on board.

"Now how do we get out of here?" Asked Kat once they were inside.

"We can't fly the Feliner." Said Kat.

"Since when have we needed a ship to fly?" Asked Kit as she pulled up her hover board.

Kat grinned and took his.

The pair flew down from the city of Avista to the earth below and planned on getting some help.

Panthro frowned because from what he could tell the combination was very complex as sometimes needing two buttons pushed at the same time or three or more.

"Maybe we should get off this city before they throw us off." Said Panthro as he kept trying to hack.

A few grunts were heard and everyone looked to see Pumyra dragging Vultaire in by the neck.

Adam's eyes widened.

"Pumyra, what are you doing?!" Asked Adam in shock.

With effort Pumyra pushed Vultaire down to his knees.

"We need passcodes, well, this is our passcode." Said Pumyra as she gestured to Vultaire.

Vultaire glared at her.

"You're all a bunch of savages!" Yelled Vultaire in anger.

Pumyra lifted up her hand with her claws extending.

"Now, you being so refined and all, you do know how to open a door for a lady?" Asked Pumyra.

"It would be my pleasure." Said Vultaire as he still glared at her.

She pushed him towards the security pad and he began putting in the passcode.

The doors slid open easily and the group walked into the room full of all kinds of technological circuitry all along the walls and floors.

In the centre of the room hovering in a vortex of light was the stone they had been searching for.

"Incredible." Said Cheetara as she breathed in awe when she saw it.

"You call us snobs, yet the Cats have always looked down on others, taking whatever they wished." Said Vultaire.

"That's how Cats were." Said Adam.

"But I've been working to change that, since I've became in charge."

"By stealing our stone?!" Asked Vultaire in anger.

"It's not stealing if it belonged to him." Replied a voice.

They looked around and saw Adira coming out from the shadows.

"Adira?" Asked both Adam and Carter.

Before Cassandra could ask, Panthro sent her a glare, telling her that he'll explain later.

"I'm afraid you must hand over the Tech Stone over to Adam, Vultaire." Said Adira.

Vultaire looked at her in shock.

"You see, once the stones are united, not only will Adam will be able to take down Mumm-Ra but he will finally stop the Black Rocks." Said Adira.

"Did your feral minds ever stop to ask why the stones were scattered in the first place?" Asked Vultaire.

"I already know why, but that doesn't matter now." Said Adira.

"We just figured they were, you know lost." Said Tygra said with a shrug.

Vultaire sighed.

"Not lost, separated." Said Vultaire as he was stepping closer to the stone.

"By our ancestors, Centuries ago, after Mumm-Ra's ship crashed, his animal servants were free to inhabit Third Earth, the question remained: What to do with the four stones of power, they were deemed too powerful for any one species to possess, so it was decided each would be given to an animal race that could protect it, meaning the strong would get stronger, and the weak well, we know what became of them, the Cats, of course, chose to take the War Stone." Said Vultaire.

"And the Birds took the Tech Stone." Said Adam.

"While the other animals feared and shunned Mumm-Ra's technology, we Avistans embraced the Tech Stone's power." Said Vultaire.

"And built all that you see here." Said Vultaire as he gestured all around.

"Let's unhook this thing and get out of here." Said Adam.

"I'm afraid you can't take the stone." Said Vultaire.

"You don't get it." Said Pumyra.

"We're not asking anymore." Said Pumyra as her paitchance was wearing thin.

"And again, you fail to grasp simple concepts." Said Vultaire as he wagged his claw around, like he was lecturing a child.

"The Tech Stone generates anti-gravity emissions that keep the entire city afloat." Said Vultaire.

"So if we take the stone." Said Cassandra as her eyes were widening at this new realization.

"It will only be moments before this whole place crashes to the ground like a rock." Said Vultaire as he closed his eyes.

"The city will fall regardless if Adam takes the Stone or not." Said Adira.

They looked at her in shock.

"Let me tell you a little about those stones, if all six aren't united, then the Black Rocks will activated and destroy everything and everyone in their path." Said Adira.

"You mean if their not all united?" Asked Adam as he couldn't finish that question.

"Then all worlds will fall, which would you prefer, a fallen city, or a fallen world?" Asked Adira as she looked at the,

Everyone glanced at each other well except for Pumyra whose eyes were set on the Tech Stone exchanged nervous glances while trying to make a difficult choice.

Taking the stone from where it was resting would practically mean sentencing everyone in Avista to death but if the stone is not taken, then all the animal races, as well as the other worlds will fall.

Pumyra stepped forward towards the stone.

Adam quickly reached out and grabbed her hand.

"I can't." Said Adam.

"But you have to." Said Pumyra.

She turned towards him.

"For our people." Said Pumyra as she was gesturing towards the cats.

"We can find another to take the Stone's powers but I won't destroy lives like Mumm-Ra does!" Yelled Adam.

Adira smirked.

He's proving more worthy of the Stones as time passes on. Thought Adira.

Pumyra scowled angrily and pushed Adam back and was snarling.

"If you won't make the tough choices then I will!" Yelled Pumyra.

She turned and ran for the stone.

"Pumyra, no!" Yelled Adam.

She shoved Vultaire out of the way.

Just as she reached for the stone, a gun shot out a bolt of lightning at her and she let out a cry as she fell to the floor unconscious.

An alarm blared loudly through the room.

"Oops." Said Vultaire with a seemingly innocent shrug.

"Did I forget to disarm the electric shield?" Asked Vultaire.

It was only moments later that the room became filled with armed guards who quickly surrounded them.

Horus fell in just behind them with his hands folded neatly in front of him as he looked at the group.

"Now Horus, take this trash and throw them off this city." Said Vultaire.

The pigeon nodded as he gave the signal for the guards to move them out of the room and they all did so as they did not want to be zapped by their weapons.

A pair of guards grabbed the unconscious Pumyra by the arms and dragged her along and leading the group to whatever fate Vultaire had planned for them.


	26. What Lies Above Part 2

Everyone was pushed over the ledge and into the pile of garbage.

They glared up at Vultaire when they landed.

"Well, this stinks." Said Tygra as he was scowling at the garbage around them.

"That distinct aroma is coming from the refuse drop." Said Vultaire as he was looking down at them.

"This is where we dispose of our trash." Said Vultaire.

"Let us go, Now!" Yelled Panthro as he snarled up at him.

"Normally, we return guests to the ground by airship." Said Vultaire.

"But when they engage in kidnapping, and acts of sabotage against our fair city, we use this." Said Vultaire.

He made a signal to Horus who stood by a lever.

He nodded and pulled it downwards and the garbage they stood on began to sink downwards as the bottom of the floor opened up and revealing the huge distance between them and the ground.

Some of it had already fallen out and started plummeting towards the Earth.

Everyone else began to climb up the moving garbage, not wanting to share the same fate as the waste.

"You can't do this to us!" Yelled Cheetara.

"Yeah, we'd much rather be shot!" Yelled Panthro as he was desperately scrambling away from the deadly drop.

A piercing alarm rang throughout the room and red lights blanketed the room.

A raven looking guard flew over to Vultaire who was obviously exhausted from his urgent flight.

"Sir, we're detecting a fleet of ships." Said the raven.

"Order every pilot to the sky cutters." Said Vultaire.

"Whoever they are, they've no chance against the technology of Avista." Said Vultaire.

"Vultaire, you know who this is!" Yelled Adam as he was struggling with his grip on the ledge.

"It's Mumm-Ra, and he's coming for your Power Stone!" Yelled Adam.

"And if you want to have a chance against him, you're going to need a few feral barbarians on your side!" Yelled Pumyra.

Vultaire looked down at the group as they climbed and he shrugged.

"I've always said the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Said Vultaire.

He made another signal to Horace and he pulled the lever back up and closing the drop, and everyone in the hole let out a sigh of relief.

"I wanted to tell you, i'm sorry, my actions in the Stone Chamber were rash." Said Pumyra apologetically.

"You almost got us killed, Pumyra." Said Adam in anger.

"I need to know, do I have your loyalty?" Asked Adam.

Pumyra stood up straight.

"I serve my king and master." Replied Pumyra.

However, Tygra, Cheetara and Panthro didn't believe that as they know that either Pumyra or Cassandra would betray Adam.

Adam nodded.

Vultaire had a ladder lowered down to help them get out and they headed up.

Kit and Kat had flown down to the Fishman Oasis and was meeting some of the former pirates that used to sail on the sand sea.

They had given them all the information they could about Avista, and what was going on with Adam and the others as they fought against the Birds.

"We've been going to everyone Adam's helped on Third Earth." Said Kit as she explained.

"Because this time, he's the one that could use some help." Said Kat.

"Can we count on you?" Asked Kat.

The Fish Man they were speaking to stared blankly at them and blinking twice in silence.

The other two Fish Men by his side waiting for his answer as he was their leader since Koinelius had been swallowed by the Ramlak.

The two kittens glanced at each other at his silence.

"So is that a yes or a no?" Asked Kit in confusion.

The group stood on the landing pad that held onto the Feliner and were looking out onto the horizon.

They saw different battling crafts flying up and towards the city.

They were out of range of any weapons but they were getting close.

"How did Mumm-Ra find us, two times now." Said Tygra.

"No doubt you led him right to us!" Yelled Vultaire.

"That's impossible!" Yelled Cheetara.

"What matters now is keeping the Stone away from him." Said Pumyra.

"We'll defend the perimeter." Said Adam.

"And we'll defend the skies." Said Vultaire.

He went over to where his ship was coming up onto the landing pad and he let out a surprised squawk when he saw Tygra sitting in the pilot's seat.

He gave Vultare a cheeky grin as he marched over.

"What are you doing in my ship?!" Asked/Yelled Vultaire in anger.

"Since this one's dented, Prefect, I'll take it." Said Tygra.

He shut the entrance to the ship and took off into the air at a much greater speed than the other ship he had been flying before.

Vultaire glared at him and the trail of exhaust he left behind.

"Cats." Said Vultaire and went over to where one of the sky cutters was waiting for him.

Panthro, Cheetara, Adira, and Pumyra were directed to some blasters that were placed in different parts of the city and were ready to fire.

Adam, Carter and Cassandra stood on their own as they were able to make long range attacks from where they stood.

"Keep them off this city!" Yelled Adam as his voice reaching everyone who listened.

He pulled out his sword.

"ThunderCats, Ho!" Yelled Adam.

A magnificent red beam shot out from the Sword of Omens and taking out a good portion of the enemies's ships.

Carter let a huge stream of fire come out of his hands and hit a good portion as well.

Cassandra went to near one of the city's giant guns and unleashed a huge beam and taking out a good portion as well.

Panthro, Cheetara, and Pumyra fired blast after blast at the incoming ships that the two of them happened to miss.

Any ship that so much as brushed by the blasts of energy exploded and their engines frying as they crashed into another part of Avista.

Some weren't so lucky and their ships started to plummet down to the ground below.

Snarf was terribly frightened from all the huge booming noises around him and ran around on one of the landing pads and crying out in fear.

Vultaire flew to the front of his attack force which formed in a V-like formation.

"Vulture One to squadron," Said Vultaire through the communications device in his ship.

"Let's teach these savages the art of combat, shall we?" Asked Vultaire rhetorically.

"Osprey wing, attack pattern 17." Said Vultaire.

The ships flew up while still in the V-like formation and prepared to attack on the oncoming ships.

The smaller ships that were in no pattern whatsoever zoomed towards them and began opening fire and easily taking out one ship after another.

"Too many!" Yelled One of the pilots as his ship lurched when one of the lizard's shots hit the back of his ship.

"I'm hit!" Yelled one of the pilots.

A moment later his ship exploded as well as five others.

"Vultare, break up your formations!" Yelled Tygra over the communicator.

"You're just making it easy for them!" Yelled Tygra.

"I don't understand!" Yelled Vultaire as he was in confusion.

"The simulations!" Yelled Vultaire.

"This is war, not a game!" Yelled Tygra as he snapped.

"All wings, follow my lead, break formation and improvise!" Yelled Tygra.

"Right with you, Tiger One." Said One of the other Birds, a raven.

Some of the ships followed Tygra's up then split away and going to fight the other ships on their own.

"I am your leader!" Yelled Vultaire.

On the city Cassandra was firing away at the oncoming ships and taking out one after another.

One that was very tricky managed to maneuverer out of her grasp even though it was one of the larger air crafts.

The launched an laser and hitting the blaster with ease.

Cassandra quickly made to get off of the blaster once it was hit but before she had a chance to even get out of the seat it exploded and threw her to the other side of the landing pad.

As Tygra flew through the skies he soon saw the silhouette of a much much larger air craft than the ones he had been fighting and recognized it right away as the vehicle Mumm-Ra had used before at Mt. Plun-Darr.

"Mumm-Ra." Said Tygra as he growled when he saw it.

"Castrol wing, attack pattern 23." Said Vultaire as he was sending more of his soldiers towards Mumm-Ra's ship and opening fire on it.

"Vultaire, retreat!" Yelled Tygra.

"You don't know what you're up against!" Yelled Vultaire.

Just then a purple orb of energy surrounded Mumm-Ra's ship and then suddenly grew larger and larger and taking in the hundred airships within its range and it blew apart and a shockwave ringing through the air.

Vultaire's eyes widened at the sight of it.

"Such power." Sadi Vultaire in awe.

"Citizens of Avista." Said Mumm-Ra as his voice echoed through the communicators in the airships and a communications system in the entire city.

"I offer you one chance to surrender and join me, with our combined might, we could rule Third Earth together, resist, and you shall perish, what is your choice?" Asked Mumm-Ra.

"Let's give him our answer!" Yelled Tygra as he was flying towards Mumm-Ra's ship.

"I've got one missile left, and it's going straight down his throat!" Yelled Tygra.

He finally had an aim on his ship.

"I have a lock!" Yelled Tygra.

Vultaire's face showed up on the communicator.

"What a coincidence, so do I." Said Vultaire.

Tygra looked back and saw Vultaire's ship was just behind him and was able to see him fire a missile on his ship.

The aircraft lurched painfully and the engines began to sputter and burn as Tygra tried to maneuverer the craft towards Avista as he was hoping to make some kind of landing there.

Vultaire flew up beside the craft that carried Addicus and a few other soldiers and gave him a grin.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, yes?" Asked Vultaire.

Addicus returned the grin before the pair of them went to work.

On the city the blasters Cheetara and Panthro had been using were destroyed by the incoming ships but the larger crafts were coming in to land on the city.

As the fight began to get increasingly intense Snarf ran away from the battle and tried to hide in a small pipe that seemed big enough for him to fit.

He jumped in but soon found that not all of him would go in so he tried to get out to find another hiding spot but he couldn't get out either.

He let out distressed cries as he tried to push himself out of the pipe while the battle raged on.

The larger crafts landed on the city as the lizard soldiers and the generals that were aboard them coming off and attacking any enemy Birds that came towards them.

Adam, Carter and Cassandra were quick to react and going over to the landing pads and began battling the lizards.

Cheetara moved quickly through the troops and knocking them out with her staff and using her speed to run through the crafts that had landed and destroying them.

Panthro was knocking the heads of the soldiers together.

"Hold the lines, keep them off the decks!" Yelled Adam.

While the group was enough to keep off some of the ones that had landed and even more were coming and invading the city and armed to the teeth.

They were crowding the decks all over Avista, and there were too many for them to keep off very easily.

Pumyra moved back towards where Adam, Carter and Cassandra were fighting against the enemy soldiers.

"We need to fall back and secure the Stone Chamber!" Yelled Pumyra over the battle.

"She's right!" Yelled Panthro in agreement since neither he, Cheetara, Tygra or the kittens who were still gone, could stop prophecy from happinging now.

"We'll hold them off as long as we can, go!" Yelled Panthro.

Adam looked over at Carter, Cassandra and Pumyra who silently nodding and the four of them headed towards the chamber.

They ran further into the city, where the Stone Chamber still remained open after Vultaire put in the access codes, luckily for them.

The Tech Stone still hung in its place as it was slowly rotating around and around as they approached it.

"We're out of time, you need to take the stone now!" Yelled Pumyra once they got close enough to it.

"We've been over this already!" Yelled Cassandra.

"If Adam takes the stone, the entire city will fall!" Yelled Cassandra.

"It's already fallen, at least we'll take Mumm-Ra with it!" Yelled Pumyra.

"I won't doom thousands!" Yelled Adam.

A huge purple bolt shot out from behind them and hit Pumyra and Cassandra and knocking them back and down onto the ground with its force leaving them unconscious.

Adam and Carter turned to see a familiar hunched figure dressed in bandages and red cloak.

And beside him was Andrea.

This made Adam and Carter confused, why would she be here instead of the battle?

"I, on the other hand, have no such concerns!" Yelled Mumm-Ra rasped out and letting out laughter.

Carter got into a fighting stance.

Adam didn't take his eyes off of him as he ran over to Pumyra and Cassandra to make sure they was okay.

He looked up at Mumm-Ra and glared.

"If you've hurt them!" Yelled Adam as he let the threat hang in the air.

"Your concern is misplaced." Said Mumm-Ra as he and Andrea stepped further into the Stone Chamber.

Carter remained still as he refused to show fear to this demon.

"You're hopelessly outmatched." Said Mumm-Ra.

"Count again." Said Adam as he pullled down his hoodie to reveal the War and Spirit Stones.

"I have two Power Stones, where as you have none, your the one who's outmatched." Said Adam as they glowed.

"And once you die, I will have three." Said Mumm-Ra.

Carter took out his gauntlet and pulled out the dark blade of the Sword of Plun-Darr and watched as small sparks came off of the blade, the sword showing off its power, as though it chosen Carter as it's new owner.

Even my own Sword turns against me. Thought Mumm-Ra as he noticed that Sword and Gauntlet of Plun-Darr was smaller then before and no longer had an evil aura aroind it.

"We have both the Swords of Omens and Plun-Darr as well as two Power Stones." Said Adam.

"We have more then enough power to defeat you." Said Adam as he reached for his sword and pulling it out of his gauntlet growl as he stood up and was preparing for an attack.

Mumm-Ra chuckled at his enthusiasm and began to chant.

"Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form to Mumm-Ra, the ever-living!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

Andrea held up her hands and made two green swords made out of magic.

Soon Mumm-Ra changed into his true form and spreading his wings wide as Andrea threw him a sword and lightning shooting out of it in a display of power.

Adam let out a battle cry as he charged over to Mumm-Ra and sparks flying as their blades clashed.

Carter swung at Andrea and sparks coming from the swords as they fought.

As Adam charged at him again as Mumm-Ra quickly defended himself from the attack and went on the defensive as Adam swung at him again and again.

Carter and Andrea were still in their battle as well.

Pumyra and Cassandra still lay on the ground near the hovering Tech Stone and unconscious as the battle raged between the four of them.

Kit and Kat stood outside of the gates of the Elephant Village as the gates slowly closed.

Kat turned to his sister.

"A whole day scouring Third Earth." Said Kat.

"We've asked everyone for help." Said Kit as she was listing them off on her fingers.

"The Fish Men, The Elephants, The Berbils, The Cat Slaves, The Tigers, even those stinky Dogs, anyone left?" Asked Kit as she wanted to make sure they didn't miss anyone.

Kat shrugged in response.

"Then we did our best, we'd better get back to the others." Said Kit.

They got on their Hover-Boards and went back to Avista City.

Mumm-Ra roared as he charged at Adam and swinging his blade at him again and again.

Adam did his best to deflect each blow and sparks flying as their swords clashed again and again.

Carter let out a battle cry as he jumped up at Andrea and clashed his blade with hers.

Mumm-Ra didn't deflect his sword with his own and defended himself with his gauntlet.

Adam used this as leverage to jump over and above Mumm-Ra and land on the other side.

Mumm-Ra turned around and before Adam had a chance to use his sword against Mumm-Ra.

He reached out with his gauntleted hand and grabbed the sword before it could touch him.

"The Stones are mine!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as the blade began to heat up and pushing him back.

Adam struggled against it but as the dark sword grew hotter a light shined from the War and Spirit Stones.

Sparks flew around the golden metal and the gauntlet had extended into an armoured arm.

Lion-O was able to use this armour and throw Mumm-Ra back.

Carter and Andrea's eyes widened when they saw that.

Mumm-Ra glared at him.

"You cannot fully harness their power, and yet the Stones still protect you!" Yelled Mumm-Ra in anger.

Adam looked down at his new armour and was feeling just as surprised as the others had.

Mumm-Ra pushed himself to stand.

"I will just have to get one for myself!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

He flew over to where the Tech Stone was and swiped it from its place in the machine.

"Never!" Yelled Adam.

He ran over to Mumm-Ra and land a solid punch to Mumm-Ra's face.

The Tech Stone went flying out of his hands onto another part of the floor as a loud alarm sounded throughout the city.

The machine that was used to harness the Stone's power began to collapse and break apart.

"Warning: Anti-gravity failure imminent, warning: Anti-gravity failure imminent." Said a mechanical.

The entire place shook and everyone felt the pull of gravity on them as the city started to fall and lost their balance for a moment as the room began to shake.

Adam looked up when Mumm-Ra started to make a run for the Tech Stone and Adam ran over to it and using the Sword of Omens to knock it away.

Carter ran over to it to make sure Mumm-Ra never got his hands on it but Andrea knock it away from him before he had a chance to grab it.

As Mumm-Ra dashed over to it Adam got there first and knocked it away.

He ran for it and Mumm-Ra blasted the stone out of his reach.

Mumm-Ra ran for it but Adam knocked it away and landed near Pumyra and Cassandra.

Pumyra slowly began to return to consciousness and seeing the four of them run for the Stone after knocking it away from another.

Adam knocked it away from Mumm-Ra and the Stone slid over to her and she grasped it in her hand as Adam kept battling Mumm-Ra and Carter kept battling with Andrea.

Adam saw that she had it and with a powerful swing he knocked Mumm-Ra back as Andrea ran to him and turned to her.

"Pumyra, Throw it!" Yelled Adam.

She looked up from the stone at him and pausing in her actions as she pushed herself up.

Carter looked over at Mumm-Ra and was seeing that he was waiting for her to act.

Why aren't he and Andrea make a move? Asked Carter in confusion.

Pumyra still hesitated.

"Pumyra!" Yelled Adam.

"Adam, you are my king." Said Pumyra as she stood up and giving him a wicked grin.

"But he is my master." Said Pumyra.

She threw the Tech Stone to Mumm-Ra who easily caught it with a smirk.

Adam gasped as Carter widened his eyes.

Sure they didn't get along with her but she had no reason to betray them!

Mumm-Ra tossed the green stone to Andrea, much to their confusion and let out a cackle as she began to transform.

The stone was absorbed into her body like when Adam does when he absorbed the stones and a large boom came over them

They looked up to see Andrea with an armour of technology of an outfit that looks similar to a Witch.

This shocked them.

"She can absorbed the stones, too?!" Asked Carter in shock.

Once it was finished Mumm-Ra created a blast that threw back Adam and Carter and they slid on the ground.

As they got up as well as Cassandra waking up they saw Pumyra going over to Mumm-Ra and when he held out his claw and she placed a gentle sensuous kiss to it.

"Pumyra, why?!" Asked Adam as he growled in angered and hurt by her betrayal.

She said nothing and only giving him a smile as Mumm-Ra's claws caressed her chin.

"Fool, Pumyra has been mine, body and soul since the day Thundera fell!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

"You remember that day, don't you Adam?" Asked Mumm-Ra.

Adam's eyes narrowed as he saw the horrible memory of Thundera's destruction.

"Pumyra fell in battle, waiting for a king who never came, she called out to you as you left the next day, but you did not come." Said Mumm-Ra.

Adam's eyes widened in shock, he thought he heard something before they left but thought it was his imagination.

"Her fiery rage shined bright in the Well of Souls, calling out for revenge, i invoked the Ancient Spirits to bring her back, to take revenge on the one who betrayed her." Said Mumm-Ra as he finished.

Adam let out a growl at the name of the Ancient Spirits, as he really knows it's Zhan Tiri.

"Originally that was Lion-O but after he died i needed some to turn against, so i went to you." Said Pumyra as she growled and picking up a piece of shrapnel from the destroyed machines.

"The sign, it was there all along." Said Adam as he turned to Mumm-Ra.

"You tracked us through her!" Yelled Adam in anger for noticing.

"You were a fool not to see it!" Yelled Pumyra as she held up the shrapnel, fire in her eyes.

"Now you'll die as I did, helpless and alone!" Yelled Pumura in anger as she ran towards him with the sharp end of the jagged metal pointed towards him as he tried to get up.

Carter and Cassandra were held by the technology surrounding them and saw that Andrea had full control of them now.

Pumyra charged and ready to strike but before she had a chance to land it something hit her and she was knocked aside with the shrapnel slipping out of her grasp.

The three watched as Tygra appeared before them with his whip in hand and glaring at Pumyra.

"He'll never be alone as long as we're alive!" Yelled Tygra in anger as he growled at her.

Pumyra glared at him and was watching as Cheetara, Panthro, and Snarf ran into the room and were ready to fight them off.

They all stood beside Adam, Carter and Cassandra.

"Then allow me to remedy that problem!" Yelled Mumm-Ra as he growled.

He held up his clawed hands and let out a powerful blast of lighting that hit all of them.

They cried out as they were thrown back and onto the floor and the lightning having been strong enough to take them all out.

"Now, if there are no further distractions." Said Mumm-Ra.

"You didn't forget about us, did you?" Said a voice.

Everyone looked towards the entrance to the chamber and saw Kat and Kit riding towards them on their hover boards with the Forever Bag resting on Kit's shoulder.

"Do you think I will hesitate to destroy two kittens?" Asked Mumm-Ra as he was moving his claw towards them.

"Kit, Kat, get out of here!" Yelled Adam.

"It's okay, we brought back-up." Said Kit with a smile.

"We went to everyone you ever helped and told them it was time to return the favor." Said Kat.

They looked behind them as a form came from the shadows and revealing a single Fish Man bearing a harpoon as a weapon.

Adam's eyes widened.

"And that's all you could find?" Asked Adam in shock.

Cassandra was confused, surly Adam helped more then one person.

"No, he just didn't want to ride in here with the others." Said Kat as Kit pulled the Forever Bag off of her shoulder.

They each took hold of the handle.

"Rankinbass!" Yelled both of them.

Suddenly so many things started jumping out of the bag, first it was a few Elephants, then some of the Berbils, a small platoon of Dogs and Lilly, a group of Fish Men, the cat slaves and the Tigers.

"Because you once stood by us, Adam, we wanted to be here to stand by you." Said Anet.

"Berbils love Adam." Said Ro-Bear-Bill in his mechanical voice as he was waving to Adam with a few other Berbils behind him.

Adam smiled at the sight of his mechanical friends.

Cassandra looked up when she saw Dobo among the Dogs.

He smiled and nodded at her and his daughter did the same.

"Now take them down!" Yelled The kittens as they pointing to Pumyra and Mumm-Ra.

They stepped back to ready themselves for the oncoming attacks.

The Elephants were first by stomping their heavy feet on the floor in perfect harmony and creating a powerful wave of sound that made the floor quake and rumble, Adam couldn't be sure but he thought saw a rainbow when they did that, causing Mumm-Ra to lose his footing.

The Fish Men fired harpoons at Andrea, none of them pierced through the armour but they did enough to cause her some pain.

The Dogs, Cat Slaves and Tigers ran up and bearing their weapons and barking and howling battle cries as they battered Mumm-Ra.

Andrea heard a battle cry and saw Adira running towards her with sword.

She was barley able to dodge those swings from her sword as she saw it cut through the toughest metal of technology.

Her blade made contact with her armour.

"Release the Tech Stone girl, you don't know of it's true power." Said Adira in anger.

Andrea did not have time to reply as Adira pushed her back.

A few of the Berbils rolled up into balls and rolled rapidly towards Pumyra and knocking her down as Dobo came over to her and kicked her hard enough to send her tumbling back.

As the groups began to advance on the three, Andrea, Mumm-Ra and Pumyra stepped back.

"A pyrrhic victory, this city will become your tomb, and I'll take the stones from its shattered remains!" Yelled Mumm-Ra.

He held out his hand to Pumyra.

"Come, beloved." Said Mumm-Ra.

She took his hand and he grasped her waist as they flew up higher and higher, while Andrea made her own wings and joined them.

Pumyra looking down at them with a smug grin.

"Farewell, my king." Said Pumyra mockingly.

Mumm-Ra blasted open a hole in the Stone Chamber as he and Pumyra made their getaway.

The city continued its plummet towards Third Earth.

"Warning: Anti-gravity power at ten percent." Said the mechanical voice called out to the city.

As the city fell further Mumm-Ra's ships and his soldiers started to fly away and joining their master as they made their escape.

The Cats ran to a panel inside the Stone Chamber that showed the city's machines and generators and where each of their power lines went.

The chamber became darker and showing that the city had started its descent through the clouds.

"Panthro, we have to save the city!" Yelled Adam as the general went over to the power panels.

"There's not enough power to keep it in the air!" Yelled Panthro as he looked at the lowering bars for each of the generators.

He looked at all the knobs and handles and buttons and seeing that the power while little left was evenly distributed among everything.

"But maybe enough power in the city's thrust generators to land it!" Yelled Panthro.

His mechanical arms extended and started pulling at different cords and levers.

"I'm rerouting power from every machine in the city!" Yelled Panthro as he watched as the bars of energy went lower from everywhere but the thrust generators which kept going up higher and higher.

"It's working!" Yelled Panthro.

Panthro looked at the large red button that said Engine Start above it.

"Firing engines now!" Yelled Panthro as he slammed his claw onto the button and everyone could feel the jolt as the generators started up and slowing the descent as it came closer and closer to the ground.

The ride was still a bit shaky and when they finally hit the earth the city ground down along the surface and sliding through the dirt as it made contact.

The entire place shook and everyone who wasn't holding onto something fell over as the city finally came to a halt.

The landing was a success and everyone had survived.

Clouds of dust and dirt floated up from the city's landing place as everyone got back on their feet.

Adam stood up and was looking around them with eyes wide and heart pounding from the adrenaline rush.

"We, we made it." Said Adam as he breathed in relief.

He went to the door of the chamber and saw that everyone outside the room was alive and well if not a little shaken up.

Panthro looked out at the city with his arms akimbo as he smirked proudly as Tygra was standing next to him.

"Ha, can't fly, but I sure can land." Said Panthro as he looked at the city.

Tygra looked up at the city with a dry look.

"If you say so." Said Tygra as Panthro glared at him.

Cheetara stood with the citizens of Avista as they were watching as the Berbils went to work on the mechanics of the engines.

"The Berbils will get your city flying again." Said Cheetara.

They watched as one of the Berbils got electrocuted and went flying up into the air and landing near the citizens.

"Eventually, meanwhile, some time on the ground will do you good." Said Cheetara.

The Birds didn't seem too happy about it but no one voiced any complaints as they watched the repairs being done.

Adam was sitting on a rock, away from the group while thinking.

Carter came over to where he was.

"You okay?" Asked Carter.

He looked over at him with a sullen expression on his face.

"I was a fool to trust Pumyra, and now look what I've lost us." Said Adam.

"You have lost a lot." Said Carter in agreement.

"But look what you've gained." Said Carter.

He gestured to another place behind him and he looked over eyes widening at the sight of all the Elephants, Dogs, Fish Men, Cat Slaves, Tigers and Berbils all looking towards him with hope shining in their eyes.

Adam stood up.

"The different animals of Third Earth working together for the first time, you know why?" Asked Carter.

Adam didn't answer as he looked down at Carter, who smiled up at him.

"You, Adam, you gave them something to believe in." Said Carter.

He went over by his side and picking up the Sword of Omens from where it had laid beside him.

He held it up to him.

"Now, there's still one more Stone left, Are we gonna find it or what?" Asked Carter.

Adam's expression became serious as he took the sword from his hands and held it up and looking at the blade, remembering how he used it to defeat Mumm-Ra in the past from the Book of Omens.

He knew that it was enough to beat him, Stones or no Stones.

A/N: Since this is the last official episode it saddens me but I will have to make up as I go along and guess how the series would end, so don't blame on how long it takes to make them.


	27. Imbalance

Months have past since Mumm-Ra had the Tech Stone and looking back now the world seemed full of hope after that initial victory over Mumm-Ra.

The first step in overcoming the difficulties that came with building a new home.

Having the allies who aided him in the fight cheer as he raised the Sword of Omens gleaming high up in the air.

But apparently there was a slip up, when Kit and Kat were gathering forced Mumm-Ra had attack most of the animal nations because they were ungarded.

Soon after Mumm-Ra's forces swarmed Third Earth mere months afterwards.

The City of Dogs fell first, then the Fishmen Oasis and then the Elephant City and many more.

The survivors of the fallen nations banded together to oppose Mumm-Ra but even now their forces were dwindling while Mumm-Ra's grew stronger.

Adam was looking at his sword and wondered on wherever or not he failed.

Shortly after the fall of Avista the ThunderCats used the Book of Omens to locate the Fourth and Last Power Stone on Third Earth.

But for some odd reason, the Book couldn't locate the Stone, which means, did it leave Third Earth?

"Adam!" Yelled a voice.

Adam's head jolted up as he snapped out of his thoughts.

"Y-yeah!" Yelled Adam as he scratched his head with a slight grin on his face as he was hiding the anxiety he was harboring in his head.

"Stop daydreaming, the situation grows dire in Magi-Oar." Said Cassandra as she walked over.

"We have to decide our next course of action soon or we'll lose more ground to Mumm-Ra!" Yelled Cassandra.

"Sorry, my head's not in the game today." Said Adam as he has been loosing focus lately.

"Well, get it together, we can't afford to have our leader musing about while Mumm-Ra's forces siege the forest." Said Carter as he went over to him.

Cheetara looked down at Adam who was completely nonchalant as if he had no concept whatsoever of what was going on.

A frown appeared across her forehead as she turned back to the map.

"Onto the war efforts, I propose we." Said Cheetara as she trailed off.

Adam sighed as he was leaning back into the chair.

As it was right now Mumm-Ra had dominion over almost half of the planet and was still gaining.

Meanwhile, the allied forces were struggling to keep control over the territories they had held for over 5000 years back when they first landed on Third Earth.

"Surrender." Said Cheetara as Adam began to focus again.

Whoa Wait What, did he hear that right?

Did Cheetara just come up with the idea of surrendering?

The strong willed, optimistic Cheetara wants to surrender?

"Wh-" Said Adam before he was cut short by a deep growl.

"I agree." Said Panthro with his arms folded.

"What's the point of fighting anymore?" Asked Panthro.

This did not sound like Panthro at all, usually he would go down fighting.

"Either we give up or Mumm-Ra will kill us all!" Yelled Panthro.

"Not you too, Panthro?" Asked Carter.

"Why would they?" Asked Cassandra under her breath.

Adam stood up and knocking his chair over.

"Listen to yourselves, how can you give up on the rebellion so easily?!" Yelled Adam in shock and anger.

"We're the last hope for Third Earth and if we won't fight for Third Earth who will?!" Asked Adam as he slammed his gauntlet-clad hands onto the table.

"Adam face it, we're losing more and more troops every day while Mumm-Ra grows stronger every second, he's unbeatable, we've lost!" Yelled Tygra as he growled.

''I've beaten him once, I'll-" Said Adam before he was cut off.

"You'll die, you got lucky the last time!" Yelled Tygra.

"This won't be like Avista, Mumm-Ra won't surrounded by a hundred elephants and fishmen!" Yelled Tygra.

"Next time, you'll be alone and you'll lose." Said Tygra.

"I'm done, i'll be gone by tomorrow." Said Tygra as his claws dug into the table and knocking it over before he stormed out of the tent.

He turned and shot a scowl towards Adam.

"I'm sure Claudus and Lion-O would've loved to see you throw the lives of our soldiers away, you're no leader, not my leader." Said Tygra with that last part under his breath as he walked away.

Panthro followed suit and was not even looking in Adam's direction while doing so.

He stared at the opening in disbelief at what had just happened.

"Cheetara I-" Said Adam before he was cut off again.

"Adam, I hate to say it but we can't do this anymore, i'm sick of waking up every morning to see more and more of our people dead." Said Cheetara with grim.

"If you have any sense of logic left, you should come with us and surrender, maybe Mumm-Ra will spare the other rebels, or what remains of them, at least." Said Cheetara.

"Please consider this Adam, I know you can set aside your pride and do what's right for our people." Said Cheetara before walking out into the night as well.

He slumped down into the chair.

The last of the ThunderCats had just abandoned him.

Kit and Kat had long been gone off to their own endeavors after that incident.

Pumyra had betrayed him years ago.

And now the only ones left by his side was Carter and Cassandra.

Each day more and more of his allies deserted him and joined Mumm-Ra's forces.

Is the war already lost? Thought Adam.

Luckily just the day before the rebellion had managed to take control of Mount Plun-Darr and were celebrating the victory.

Suddenly the other leaders of the animals, Dogs, Elephants, Fishman and Berbils have come to him as well.

"I am sorry to say this but I have come to tell you that the foolishly-made alliance between our kinds is broken." Said Anet.

"What, why?!" Yelled Cassandra in confusion.

"Surely you must know the reason, the war is lost." Said Anet.

No further words were spoken as the gray giant elephant turned and walked away slowly.

The Fishman, The Berbils and the Dogs turned away too

Adam before walking back to his tent.

He looked as the walls of his tent were adorned with war plans and maps.

The floors scattered with crushed papers.

Beside the armour stand next to his bed was a heavily scarred table with papers and the Book of Omens and memorabilia of better times scattered across it.

He sat down on his bed.

Cassandra and Carter entered into the tent as well.

"Those idiots, have they not seen what Mumm-Ra has done?!" Asked Cassandra in anger.

"I guess they haven't." Said Adam.

"Well I kinda see their point." Said Cart quietly.

Unfourtantly Cassandra heard that.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO PICK A FIGHT WITH ME, YOU FAT ASS?!" Yelled Cassandra as Adam held her back.

"No, no, I just mean that their scared, because most of them had their homes taken away from and they want their life back again." Said Carter as he reasoned.

"Nobody said being in a Rebellion was easy." Said Cassandra.

Adam began to block out their conversation as he was starting to think.

Could Mumm-Ra be using his magic to cause conflict amongst them? Thought Adam in his mind.

He snapped his fingers, which caught Carter and Cassandra's attentions.

"I think I figured it out." Said Adam.

"Figured what out?" Asked both Carter and Cassandra.

"Why their suddenly leaving, what if Mumm-Ra used a spell to use their fear to control them?" Asked Adam.

"I wouldn't put it past that demon to try a trick that." Said Carter.

"Then we need to figure out how to break the spell." Said Cassandra.

"I don't think that's enough." Said Adam.

"Why's that?" Asked Cassandra in confusion.

"Even if the spell is broken, they'll still have their fear, we need to find someway to prove that their is hope." Said Adam.

It took them all night but they found nothing.

The next morning the rebels who left were meeting with Mumm-Ra at a hill.

Mumm-Ra himself was there.

"Ah, I see you all made a correct choice." Said Mumm-Ra with a smirk at the idea of the rebellion being over.

"Yes." Said Tygra as he spoke for them.

"Good." Said Mumm-Ra.

He then smiled.

Adam, Carter and Cassandra came out of their tents and noticed that everyone was gone.

"They've really left." Said Adam as he sighed, knowing his original companions at the start of his journey, aside from Carter and Cassandra have left him.

"It's alright, one day we'll get them back." Said Carter as both he and Cassandra were right beside him, no matter what.

Rather sad though, what started as an army is now just three people.

But they would rebuild and bring in a new era.

Until then the war would go on, they would fight until their last breath until Mumm-Ra was beaten forever.

A/N: My apologies if this is short, but this all i have to go on, i'm developing an arc where Adam, Carter and Cassandra would have to find a way to battle Mumm-Ra on their own and break the spell Mumm-Ra placed on their friends, also Andrea will have a redemption arc soon.


	28. Journey To The Black Pyramid

Adam, Carter and Cassandra were definitely having a hard life now that only three of them are in the Rebellion.

They would have to find someway to block Mumm-Ra's magic.

"We need to do something, if Mumm-Ra can use his magic to manipulate our friends then he can get to us." Said Cassandra.

"I agree, but how, we don't have knowledge to do something like this." Said Carter.

Cassandra thought for a moment.

"What about that friend of yours when you first came here, Mumm-Rana?" Asked Cassandra.

Cassandra was told of everything when they started traveling together.

"Even if she knew how to block Mumm-Ra's magic, we have no idea how to contact her, we haven't seen her since we first found the War Stone." Said Adam.

"It's not just Mumm-Ra's magic we should completely worry about." Said Carter.

That made Adam and Cassandra confused.

"What do you mean?" Asked Adam in confusion.

"Even if we block Mumm-Ra's magic, we'll need something to combat his technology too." Said Carter.

Carter did have a point, magic or no magic Mumm-Ra would still be a threat.

"I doubt there's any place more advanced than Avista and that was reduced to rubble long ago along with the junkyard." Said Adam.

"Where else can we get technology?" Asked Cassandra.

"I hate to say it but Mumm-Ra's Black Pyramid, all the gizmos and tech that Mumm-Ra used to destroy planets and travel through the stars, we could use it against him." Replied Carter.

Carter was right was right.

Back when Adam first entered the Book of Omens and relived the events, he did notice that the technologies inside Mumm-Ra's ship were lightyears beyond anything they currently had in this world.

With the exception of the Power Stones, at least.

But still, could they really take this risk?

"Are you sure we should to do this?" Asked Adam.

"Do you see another option?" Asked Carter.

Adam thought for a moment before deciding.

"I guess we're going to the Black Pyramid." Said Adam.

"But how do we navigate through the Black Pyramid, we know next to nothing about it." Said Cassandra.

"Actually I think we might, Panthro once said he made a map of Black Pyramid in case he needed to come back." Said Adam.

It took some scourging but they eventually found that map in Panthro's old tent.

Days and nights would pass as they travelled.

Only stopping for when they decided they needed some rest.

Soon enough in far away they could see a black triangle coming into focus.

They had reached the outskirts of the Black Pyramid.

"Lizards and Monkians all over the damn place." Said Cassandra as she looked through a pair of binoculars.

"Where's the cloaking device you made?" Asked Adam.

Cassandra walked over and holding up the little black box.

Adam picked it out of her hand.

"Alright, lets do this." Said Adam as he grinned delinquently and raising the device in front of his face.

They silently made his way past the dozens probably hundreds of guards.

They should have known Mumm-Ra would have took no chances.

They took extra care not to make any sound.

The group continued to shuffle through the seemingly endless ocean of guards before they finally reached the Black Pyramid.

They began to climb up towards where a vent was.

The bent metal bars Panthro had made all those years ago were still there.

They stared into the dimly lit eerie hallways of the lair before taking a deep breath and jumping in.

They knew there were was no going back now.

They landed quietly in the enormous hallways of the Pyramid.

As they trudged through the inadequately maintained dripping corridors, Adam pulled a rolled-up paper out of a pouch on his hoodie and opened it up.

While it wasn't incredibly detailed, it had enough information to guide them towards where they needed to go.

About 80 meters south of their current location.

They were completely oblivious to a small silhouette dashing through the hall behind them.

They continued to survey the area and saw two lizard guards were standing guard in the hallway they had to go through to get to the Armory.

Guess that meant this was the right path, after all.

Cassandra was able to sneak up on them and knock them out without making a sound.

They saw a massive silver door in front of them.

Adam placed his Sword of Omens into it as did Carter placed his Sword of Plun-Darr and were able to push the door open.

"Look at this place." Said Adam with disbelief as he was gazing upon the palatial hordes of futuristic tech with dimly lit by torches that seemed to have been there for millennia.

Strangely shaped weapons lined the walls neatly with the larger vehicles and ships being stationed in the centre.

There were even a few ThunderTanks in there.

Pedestals containing magical ornaments and other machinery were neatly organized around the room and they each pulled out a bag and started collecting as much Technology as they can possibly carry.

Soon enough the bags were filled.

"Alright, lets get the hell outta here." Said Adam.

Carter poked his head out of the hole.

"All clear." Said Carter as he was gesturing for the rest of the group to come.

They ran towards the escape route before running off.

As they continued making their way through the corridor when sirens began to sound around the Pyramid.

A red blinking light filled the room as every single guard in the vicinity was alerted to their presence inside the fortress.

Soon they would be surrounded.

They had to move as soon as they could.

They had to dash for freedom.

They managed to run into a room with the ThunderTanks and got into three of them.

With a little luck they were able to start and escape.

But unfortunately they were being chased by the Lizard Army.

The Berbils came up to Adam's ThunderTank.

Adam thought they were here to fight but they said something that shock him.

"Berbils Sorry." Said Ro-Bear-Bill.

He and the rest of the Berbils rolled out to stop the Lizard Army so the trio could make their escape.

They soon managed to return to Mount Plun-Darr and saw something shocking.

There was a magical stone like object that kind of looks like a throne.

There was a note that said:

This should help you in your war with Mumm-Ra, it's a magic stone that can block outside magic, signed Mumm-Rana.

"How did she know we needed it?" Asked Cassandra.

"I don't know, but I am thankful." Said Adam as he can rest now that Mumm-Ra can't use his magic.

Just behind them was a dove with green glowing eyes looking at them before flying off.

Mumm-Ra felt a prescience and smirked.

"So Mumm-Rana, you've finally returned after all these centuries." Said Mumm-Ra.


End file.
